From The Three
by HH.Hope
Summary: After leaving Arkadia University's Women's Basketball Program, high profile rookies Clarke Griffin and Octavia Blake get a new start as second years with the Polis University Timber Wolves. With a less than welcoming beginning, Clarke and Octavia fight to gain the trust and support of new teammates; and for Clarke, the attention of hostile co-captain, Lexa Woods. [Clexa AU]
1. Chapter 1: Welcome To Polis

_**Hey guys, this is my first story on here in like ….six years and my first 100 fic ever. I'm excited to be back writing and hoping I don't disappoint you!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: "Welcome to Polis"**

"Welcome to Polis University. Congratulate yourself on making it here, on becoming a Timber Wolf. Our program here, as you may know is a successful one. In order to keep such a reputation we expect a lot from you ladies, especially those of you new to our team. Our veterans know what to expect and you can look to them as your guide, but ultimately it is your choices and your choices alone that will determine your playing time and how successful you are on the court." The head coach spoke.

Clark scanned the room; she could tell which girls were veterans by their expressions. Stoic, motivated and cold. The few rookies on the other hand, showed their cards by revealing their nerves that were etched into their expressions. She looked finally to her best friend Octavia, like her, not a rookie but new to this program. Octavia looked as she normally did, eager, and determined. She silently wondered how her own curious expression would come off.

" Now…I am Coach Titus, your head coach. This is Coach Indra your assistant coach. You will address us by that and nothing else. We will not begin training today, but here is your schedule for the next two weeks of training camp. It is also accompanied by team rules and regulations. Failure to comply with these hold great consequences so do your best to keep them in mind, both on and off the court. We'll see you ladies tomorrow. Get aquatinted with your teammates, and veterans; be nice." Coach Titus smirked and left the gym with Coach Indra in tow.

As soon as the doors closed, a player sitting closest to the front stood. Everything about her seemed _hard_ , Clarke noted. From her harsh, ridged bone structure, to the incredibly well toned arms and legs. Clarke recognized her as the starting point guard for Polis.

"Alright ladies, I'm Anya, your captain. I'm in my fourth and final year here. We're excited to have all of you rookies here to join us this season. Many of you I've met on your recruiting trips, but lets introduce ourselves shall we?" Clarke knew her well, last season when she and Octavia were rookies playing for Arkadia, she admired how well the girl moved on the court; and hated her flash temper. She wasn't one to be messed with and asserted her dominance with every step despite her inviting tone now.

Anya looked to her left and raised her eyebrows, summoning another girl who sat next to her. She stood and introduced herself as Luna, a third year post player. From what Clarke could remember from playing against Polis last year, Luna was vicious in the paint. Other girls began standing, introducing themselves without prompting. Emori, Niylah, Echo, and Caris were all veteran players. The new players were slow to their feet and lacked the cool confidence of the vets. Mel and Harper barley spoke over a whisper, but Luna smiled and welcomed them encouragingly.

"Alright, I'm Raven Reyes, I'm not a rookie but transferred from a tech school out East. I'm excited to be here and ready to kick some ass." The girl spoke excitedly; her confidence in the face of such intimidating veterans was admirable.

Now that it was her turn, Clarke made a note to copy Raven's confidence. So she stood and cleared her voice trying not to look at the older girls as they nudged each other with realization of who she was. "I'm Clarke Griffin, a second year transfer. I play the 4. I-."

"You're and Arker, right?" Emori abruptly interrupted.

This is what Clarke wanted so desperately to avoid, the label, coming from the Ivy League Arkadia; Polis's number one rival. At this point, she'd prefer not to speak of Arkadia at all. Before she had to, Octavia was on her feet, at her side as she so often was. "We _were_ at Arkadia, but were here now. I'm Octavia, a second year transfer with Clarke-y here."

Clark gave her new team a tight-lipped smile and wordlessly thanked God for Octavia's intervention. Anya quickly took the attention back, giving instructions for the next days training, where to find their locker room, and general notes about the upcoming varsity basketball season. With the more Anya spoke, the more excited Clarke became. Sure, she was incredibly nervous but the prospect of a new team and a fresh start made it easier for her to get excited about the game again; a feeling she had lost after experiences at Arkadia.

"Hey Anya, where's your little second?" Emori asked before everyone was dismissed.

"Lexa will be here tomorrow, and she's not my little anything. She your Co-Captain." Anya said sternly, settling the tension from the topic.

While Clarke had never known the girl-in-question's first name, she was certain they were referring to Woods, number 15; the incredibly quick shooting guard that buried the Arkadia women's team from the 3 point line in their game last season. Before she could think much more, people stood and began excitedly catching up, leaving the rookies and transfers to themselves.

Raven approached Clarke and Octavia. "Hey fellow transfers. That got a little tense back there huh? Like I said, I'm not really from here, so I'm oblivious to these western rivalries. Anyways, I see you guys got all your stuff with you here, so I'm guessing you haven't been shown to your dorms."

"No, we haven't, we were running a little late so came just here. We actually don't really know where we're going…" Clarke said.

"Well, I've been here a few days, and if you two are 'O. Blake and C. Griffin' assigned to Forrester Dorms, then I think I'm your pod mate" She said excitedly.

Clarke and Octavia exchanged a knowing look. Unsure of how they would handle someone so high energy for the whole year. "…. I guess that's perfect. Coach said we'd be rooming with teammates so I guess it makes sense. You lead the way?" Octavia clarified.

"Let's go!"

* * *

With brief goodbyes and shy waves, the team dispersed. Clarke and Octavia followed Raven through the small campus to their dorm. Their room was marked with cheaply printed welcome signs greeting "Welcome, , O. Blake, R. Reyes". Inside, Clarke was pleasantly surprised with the size of the dorm, unlike most university accommodations. This was laid out more like an apartment with a small kitchenette, living room, washroom, and three bedrooms allowing for privacy. After a long day, the three girls went to the respective rooms, Clarke not bothering to unpack, crawled into bed. Before she rolled to her side to sleep, her cell phone buzzed with an unknown number. She opened the message that read.

[+1 786 947 6016]:

" _ **Hello Ladies, I apologize for my absence tonight but I look forward to meeting you all. Tomorrow morning Anya and I will be going for a voluntary run before training camp begins, this is not mandatory but I hope to see you there. Meet at the Gym for 6:30 am.- Lexa"**_

 _A voluntary run at 6:30 in the morning? Before a 3-a day training camp? No wonder the Polis girls are hailed for their athleticism,_ Clarke thought. To properly assimilate into this team, it was in her best interest to be at that run.

[ +1 786 947 6016]:

" _ **Oh and welcome to Polis.- Lexa"**_


	2. Chapter 2: Uphill

**Chapter 2: Uphill**

* * *

 _FLASHBACK TO LAST YEAR:_

 _As far as Lexa was concerned, this game against Arkadia was going to be an easy win. Coach Titus would be putting in the rookie players by half and letting her rest. In the past, Arkadia had been more bark than bite, so they weren't much of a concern. However, due to their close proximity of less than a two-hour drive, they were considered Polis's number one rivals in the conference. As a result of her confidence, Lexa paid no attention to their starting line-up being called; as far as she was concerned they didn't matter. She perked up as their own line-up begun with wild cheers from the home crowd._

" _Second year Shooting Guard…. LEXXXXAAAA WOOOODDDSSSSS." The announcer called, getting a loud cheer from the crowd and her teammates. Lexa stood and smiled brightly as she ran through the fan tunnel, jumping to shoulder bump Luna at the end. It was those moments she lived for_.

* * *

"Raven let's go we can't be late! They already hate us!" Octavia yelled from outside the girl's door.

"It's voluntary! And it's like 6 am." Raven murmured from her bed.

"Yeah, I don't really think she meant that part. Lets go. Now." Clarke said sternly from the door. Her tone was enough to pry Raven grumpily from her bed and within minutes the girls were leaving the dorm.

Clarke was right; every girl was in attendance, the veterans significantly more awake than the sleepy-eyed rookies. Clarke immediately settled her eyes on the girl who had not been there the night before, Lexa. She sat on the hardwood, stretching slowly with ear buds in, ignoring everyone else. Clarke remembered her for sure; she wouldn't have forgotten that face.

* * *

FLASH BACK:

 _The game was going as expected, Arkadia was down by a 15-point deficit with their starters not doing much to regain the lead. At the end of the first quarter, Anya and Lexa were told to rest up for a few minutes as the rookies subbed in. At the same time, rookies from Arkadia took the court for the first time._

" _Coming into the game for Arkadia, number 22, Clarke Griffin and number 5, Octavia Blake." The announcer stated to an uninterested crowd._

 _Two possessions later, Anya nudged Lexa who was re-taping her shin splints. "Hey look at this. We may be going back in soon."_

 _Lexa looked up and was stunned; the score was brought within 4 points again. She looked back to the court to see number 22, pulling up a well-formed jumper and hitting it as Luna was late to close out to the high post._

" _Damn, they did some recruiting." Anya stated._

" _Yeah they're pretty good. Even number 5 is making Luna work for position. And number 22 has a decent shot from the elbow, she's also pretty cute." Lexa grinned to her friend._

" _Wow, Lexa Woods? Someone finally meeting your standards?" Anya laughed._

 _Before Lexa could reply, Coach Indra was subbing them back into the game._

* * *

"Do you remember them being so…muscular last year? Like, they ran us down but God, they're ripped." Octavia whispered in admiration, clearly staring at Lexa's flexed quads as well. Before she could reply, Lexa stood and faced the group digging the headphones from her ears; her green eyes scanning the team.

"I'm glad you all showed up. Voluntary here, as you'll learn…. Really means mandatory, that is, if you want play time." Lexa said seriously.

"So then why not just say mandatory?" Raven replied tiredly, gaining the surprised looks from the group. Lexa smiled coldly and stepped toward the girls, "Because it's the first step in weeding out the weak. We don't want weak on our court."

She turned her head to Clarke and Octavia. "The Ark girls? Glad you found your way here this morning. I didn't remember you guys being…. Inclined to hard work when we played you last season. You'll learn today." Her smile returned.

Clarke pulled on the back of Octavia's cutoff t-shirt as Lexa walked away, effectively reminding the girl to watch her temper, and to hold her tongue; something she was never good at. From the day they met in rookie year, she had noted her friend's quick temper and sharp tongue, one that frequently got them in trouble. This time however, Clarke could understand her irritation but it wasn't the time to make enemies and not with Anya, watching for their reaction.

* * *

FLASHBACK:

 _Anya made another pass into the post for Luna, but once again she was unable to adequately seal the Arkadia rookie, Octavia; who picked the pass off again for a steal. Lexa groaned and sprinted back in time to defend the hoop only to have number 22, Clarke, pull up from inside the three for two more points. The game even with Lexa and Anya, continued back and forth._

 _Anya took the ball out of bounds and inbounded it to Lexa who took off sprinting, losing her Arkadian defender. She crossed the ball behind her back and pulled a three pointer with ease. Lexa repeated similar motions from every spot of the three, sufficiently burying Arkadia with her expert shot. By the 3rd quarter, Polis was once again leading by double digits by the time Lexa returned to the bench. Within seconds of her sitting, commotion broke out on the court when the Arkadia rookie post, Octavia, threw an elbow, landing on Luna's jaw. Emori was first to Luna's defense and before Lexa could take off to the brewing bench clearing, Anya grabbed ahold of her. The scene dispersed easily and the blonde rookie, Clarke, took her friend off the court to cool her down._

" _She's still kind of hot…" Lexa commented to her Captain, who just laughed._

* * *

Burning, The only word that could come to mind as Clarke willed herself to continue running. Her quads, her calves and her lungs were all on fire, blazing as she slowly fell behind, only just keeping pace with the quickly fading rookies. Lexa, and Anya had set the pace from their first stride, one so quick the other girls doubted they'd be able to maintain it and now an hour later, the two were long out of sight. Octavia struggled as well, but was determined as she kept a few yards ahead of Clarke at all times, willing the blonde to keep pace. Raven surprised everyone, staying up front between the veterans.

After another 10 minutes, Clarke could see a group forming at the base of a massive hill. When she arrived a little ahead of the rookies, most of the veterans looked amused. Clarke allowed her burning legs to buckle and slumped into the grass next to Octavia who tossed her a team water bottle.

"I'm going to die." Clarke wheezed.

"Not until we're done." Anya said, extending a hand to help her up.

"We're running that hill, aren't we?" Harper called, defeated.

"That's no hill, that's Everest." Octavia laughed, already on her feet. A few of the other girls chuckled.

Lexa paid no mind to the newcomers and sprinted off up the hill effortlessly. Her ponytail bounced as her legs easily bounded the hill. Clarke watched in admiration of her muscular, but attractive frame. It was the kind of attractive where Clarke wasn't sure if she wanted it, or wanted it on her. The latter, was one she wasn't willing to think about, not after what happened at Arkadia. So she resulted in wanting to impress the co-captain, show her that she was worthy of the Polis uniform and to make her eat her earlier words. So Clarke took off up the hill after Lexa determined to catch her.

* * *

"Good first day, ladies. But as you may notice about yourselves, we have a lot of work to do as a team and as individuals. Our captains here have set a pace, now lets try and match it and we will be successful." Coach Titus spoke to the battered group at the end of the first day.

"This week, you'll train like warriors, so you must recuperate like one. I don't care if you hate ice, but everyone's taking ice baths before you go home. We need you strong and ready tomorrow. Have a good night." Coach Indra mused, smiling at the girls groans.

Anya led the team to their therapy room, stocked with expensive medical and training equipment, including the large steel ice baths. "Please do not get into our tubs in your sweaty ass bras. Change first in our locker rooms down the hall" Luna laughed towel-whipping Echo as they all dispersed.

When Clarke returned, Anya and Lexa were already submerged; not looking in the least bit phased by the freezing temperatures, talking amongst themselves. Clarke took the opportunity to try and get on their good side, learning from past mistakes.

"Thanks for filling the tubs for us….I appreciate it" She said slowly.

"We didn't think you guys had enough strength left to lift an ice bin, you're welcome for the favor." Lexa replied in her usual cold tone.

Clarke shook off the rude remark and slowly stepped into the ice tub next to them, holding in her shocked reaction to the ice. The other girls filled in behind her and picked tubs, Raven and Octavia joining her. As the others whimpered at the temperature, Clarke feigned nonchalance. "So it is normal that we spent a whole day in training camp, not even touching a ball?" she asked, interrupting the captains again.

"Think about it this way, Griffin. If you can't run, you can't play basketball… or at least, not well. Like you guys at Arkadia." Anya laughed.

"Look, we understand the rivalry, but Octavia and I are here now. Were on YOUR team. Our pasts at the Ark don't mean anything and shouldn't affect our treatment here." Clarke finally broke. Lexa raised her eyebrows at her admission; Clarke couldn't tell if she was impressed or amused.

"The only thing that will reflect your treatment here is how hard you work. So the lazy tendencies you've brought with you will hinder your success here. You have to step it up if you want to step on the court this season. It's all uphill from here. That goes for you too, Reyes." Lexa chided without looking at the girls.

"Why are you here? Why did you two leave your cozy little Ark?" Anya asked.

This was the question Clarke wanted to avoid, she knew it would come, but was still unprepared to tell the answer. She hadn't decided how she would answer, the truth? A lie? Clearly the truth at the Ark, landed her in the position she's in now. She simply couldn't risk that happening here; it would jeopardize everything. " We wanted to win, so we came here. You're a hardworking team, and we can learn a lot here" She half lied. She looked to Octavia who nodded, silently agreeing to safeguard her truth.

"Good answer, but I'm not buying it. You want to be apart of the team? No secrets." Anya said.

Lexa studied Clarkes face. She could tell there was more by the way the blonde set her jaw and wracked her brain for another answer, but chose to remain silent. It irritated her, everyone from Arkadia irritated her, and maybe it was the Ivy League entitlement? Or the way they competed. They were good, but lazy, usually falling short in key games because they failed to work hard late into the fourth quarter. She did have to admit, after watching Clarke and Octavia play, they were the better players the Ark had. They were good, but not excellent and after their game last year, Lexa kept tabs on their game-to-game stats. Octavia frequently fell victim to her temper, fouling out of almost every game. Clarke was slow to make decisions and take command of the floor. It could have had much to do with her rookie status last year, but with her ability, that team would have rallied behind her. Her clear reluctance to lead also irritated the brunette. Only time would tell if these habits could be worked out of them.

Clarke looked back to Lexa who was studying her face. It in all honesty intimated her, everything about her did. Her demeanor was about as cold as the ice bath, so it was unsurprising that she was so unaffected by it. Clarke watched and the brunette looked away and pushed she self out of the bath. As if in slow motion, Clarke's eyes lowered down the girls body, her wet, black sports bra revealing her slightly hard nipples, and her flexed abs, well tanned and perfectly toned made Clarke's mouth go dry. She caught her thoughts and stopped them in their tracks looking away and turning her attention back to Octavia and Raven who loudly chatted with the other teammates.

* * *

After the ice baths, the girls went home. Clarke settled into bed with every intention of going to bed and resting for tomorrows training. She wasn't pleased with her performance today, while it may be good enough at Arkadia, it was clear it would not be sufficient here, Lexa was right she would have to step it up.

Clarke was pulled from her thoughts, when she heard one loud knock and Octavia and Raven busted into her room, changed from their ball shorts and sports bras. "Clarke, let's go…. Were going to see Bellamy…." Octavia said excitedly.

"First, knock at least twice before coming barging in. Second, you do not dress like _that_ to see your brother…" Clarke replied skeptically.

Octavia broke "Well, the men's basketball team has the day off training tomorrow, so they're having some athletes over before the rest of campus moves in. Lets goooo."

"And if you missed that, she said mens basketball team. Rugged, strong, men, looking for company." Raven smiled. Clarke was unmoved, "They may have the day off, but we don't. We can see Bellamy tomorrow, sober."

"Clarke please….Just one hour. We promise and we'll all be back and ready for bed. We have to mingle! We have to travel with these boys for every road game…. Gotta make friends and get acquainted…" Octavia pleaded. "After everything I've doneeee…" she continued. She was sure Octavia was going to use that card whenever possible, despite not sacrificing much following Clarke to Polis. Her brother Bellamy had already been here on the men's team for a few years, and when the girls were looking to leave the Ark, Bellamy put them in contact with Coach Titus. Although, Clarke owed her for her never wavering support.

"One hour. That's it." Clarke caved, pushing herself from the bed and immediately regretting it.

* * *

"Clarke! Hey guys this is the beautiful Clarke Griffin, the only person besides myself that can stand my sister for more than a week!" Bellamy shouted above the music, pulling Clarke in for a hug. She had only met him twice in the last year during holidays she spent visiting the Blake's, but they got along effortlessly.

He introduced himself to Raven and the two immediately occupied themselves with each other, leaving Clarke and Octavia to their own devices. There weren't many people in attendance; mostly guys she thought belonged to the men's basketball team. Most of which, moved to engage the two girls in conversation. Clarke turned down several drinks; a move Octavia neglected to try.

"So how did two beautiful Arkers end up here at Polis?" a guy named Finn smirked. Clarke rolled her eyes, evading the question for the second time today "we came by bus." She spoke showing her irritation.

"You know that's not what I meant" he continued.

"But I'm still sure she gave you an answer, Finn." A tall guy interrupted, thumping his massive hand on Finn's shoulder. He flashed a brilliant white smile and extended his other hand, "I'm Lincoln, ".

Clarke introduced herself and shook his hand. By the way Octavia lingered in his grasp, she was certain she'd be hearing about him for the rest of the night. "So Lincoln, are you on the football team?" Octavia flirted. To be fair, it was a legitimate question, for his stature and muscle tone, he looked like a professional football player.

"No, no. I'm on the basketball team. I'm a post," he laughed.

"No Linc, you're a fucking mountain." Another guy yelled from a few feet away, causing laughter.

Clarke slowly exited the conversation between Lincoln and Octavia, who seemed to forget she was standing there. Over the next hour Clarke tried to observe more than speak, but was introduced to Monty and Jasper, rookies to the men's team who actually seemed pretty funny. Clarke appreciated that they made no attempts to hit on her, instead where more excited to be speaking to someone who called them by their names, and not "Rooks". But as time ticked, Clarke made her way to tear her roommates from their newfound "friends". After much pleading they were headed to the door and exiting the other dorm. Clarkes phone buzzed in her pocket.

[Anya]:

" _ **While your relations on the men's team may have helped you get here. They wont help you in training, or on the court. Make better choices ladies."**_

Octavia looked up from her phone as Clarke breathed, "Fuck."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Short little chapter here to get things moving. Thanks to everyone reading!

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Frappuchino's Don't Make Friends.**

Over the next few days, training was filled with blood, sweat, puke, tears, and much to Clarke's disappointment, no actual basketball. After their outing with the guys, the veterans turned up the heat and Clarke couldn't help but to feel unfairly challenged by them. Was it a lack of trust? Or did they just genuinely hate them? Sure, now some of it had to do with their ill-advised party attendance, but it couldn't be a root of the issue.

Octavia assimilated better than she did, opening up to the team and making several new friends. Most of the girls were polite at most, except Lexa, who often seemed irritated with the fact Clarke was even breathing the same air as her. Then again, the green-eyed brunette was not particularly warm with anyone during their three training sessions a day, focusing solely on the task at hand. Afterwards, Lexa left immediately, never staying to mingle. As a result, it was hard to see any other personality traits aside from hostility. Clarke wasn't sure why, but it irritated her and intrigued her at the same time.

"You guys are getting better, the work ethic is almost there, I get you are tired, it has been a long 5 days, but it is worth the sweat in the end. You may have noticed we have nothing scheduled after tomorrow's session. That is because as a team, we will be headed up north for some team bonding. Don't get too excited, just because this is the camp portion of training camp doesn't mean we won't be working. We'll be cutting it down to two sessions a day, a morning run lead by your captains, and afternoon weights led by Coach Indra. Please pack accordingly and we'll leave at noon." Coach Titus explained. The girls waited for him to leave before excitedly bursting in conversation. Clarke noted, that Lexa was out of the room before Titus had finished, not waiting to share excitement with anyone.

"Where is she always going?" Clarke asked, and Harper simply shrugged her shoulders. "Probably to make babies cry for her own enjoyment," she laughed.

Clarke exchanged a polite chuckle, wondering where the mysteriously hostile captain was always disappearing.

* * *

"You guys go ahead, I'm going to go for a run through town." Clarke called to her roommates. Clarke had established a new routine over the last few days, where she would end her already exhausting day with a light jog, simultaneously exploring the new city. The first day had sucked, but she had come to like the activity. If she was being completely honest, the additional run did have a little to do with impressing Lexa, who often seemed displeased with her performance at training.

Tonight she took a new route, headed for a cute side street lined with small boutiques and restaurants with bustling patios. She had run twice her usual distance and self-negotiated a break before turning back to campus. She walked into a Starbucks on the corner and immediately eyed the menu.

"Iced venti, non-fat caramel macchiato for James!" a familiar voice rang out. Clarke turned her attention the beverage bar, where a smiling Lexa stood making drinks. Clarke watched her work for a moment; taking in her entirely different demeanor. She seemed approachable; cute almost without her usual edge.

"Lexa?" she said causing the brunette to look up. For the first time, Clarke saw what might have been a vulnerable expression pass by the girl's eyes. Embarrassment? Shock? Clarke wondered. Lexa crossed her arms over her green apron; her typically cold expression taking over and turning her back to the hostile captain Clarke was so accustomed to. She stiffly replied "What are you doing here, Griffin?"

Clarke, no longer wanting to shout across the store, walked towards her, leaving the bar to separate them. "I was out for a run, and came in for a drink…. You work here?"

"You did something good by getting a run in, only to ruin it with a Frappuccino… And yes, I obviously work here Griffin, I didn't steal the apron and come to hang out." She sneered.

Clarke rolled her eyes at the rude retort. "I wasn't going to get a Frappuccino, because I'm not 10. And sorry I was surprised, I thought you had to be nice or have some sort of a personality to work here."

Lexa returned to the queue of drinks that were piling up, masterfully pulling shots and steaming milk while shooting Clarke a dirty look. " Are you just staying here to irritate me or do you want a drink." She asked, handing out another completed latte.

" Um, yeah I'm just going to get an iced tea or something, I'll get out of your way…" Clarke said turning and heading towards the register. She placed her order and before she could remove her debit card, Lexa called to her coworker, waving her off.

"Looks like it's on Lexa today. Have a good one." She stated, sliding the cup into Lexa's queue.

 _That was nice… she's being nice… sort of. Maybe I'm overthinking everything and she doesn't hate me._ Clarke thought waiting for her beverage. When Lexa completed her drink, she held it up silently motioning for Clarke. The blonde stepped closer and sheepishly thanked the brunette.

"Don't mention it. Seriously, a lot of the girls don't know I work here, or have a job even. Coach Titus usually doesn't allow it, but I have…different circumstances. Keep this to yourself." She sternly cautioned.

" It's between us, promise. Thanks again, and I'll see you in the morning?" Clarke asked.

"Unfortunately I will. We're going to camp, so I'm obligated to spend even more time with you." Lexa replied not looking up from her task.

 _Okay, maybe she hates me a little bit._ Clarke dejectedly thought. However, now they shared something, a secret. Sure, it was by accident that Clarke found out, but maybe it could bring them a little closer. _Let's hope_


	4. Chapter 4: TonDC

**Chapter 4: Camp TonDC**

* * *

"Guys, I'm low-key sad the guys team isn't coming." Octavia whined perching on her bus seat behind Clarke and Raven.

"More like high-key…." Raven teased earning a punch to the shoulder from Octavia. Clarke shifted in her seat to face her friend. "You already got us in trouble because of the guys team." The blonde reminded.

"But I want to see Lincoln again… He is so fucking hot you guys. Bellamy won't even give me his number." Octavia whined dramatically slumping into the back of her friend's seats.

Raven laughed, "I'm all down for you getting some ass, but let's just focus on getting through training alive."

Octavia raised her hands in mock defeat before continuing. "So Clarkey, did anyone catch your eye the other night? What about that Finn guy, he asked Bellamy about you." She said wiggling her eyebrows.

Clarke stared back with a dead expression. "I'm not interested in him. Like Raven said, I'm just focused on getting through this."

"And impressing Lexa? I've noticed." Raven interjected, causing Clarke to blush slightly. Thankfully, Octavia was always swift to deflect.

"Well, she's not wrong. Getting the ice Commander to soften up may be the best way to get us some play time this season." Octavia defended.

Clarke jutted her thumb towards Octavia praising her point, " Exactly, I just want to prove to them that were not useless transfers who fled their last schools because they weren't good enough." While part of this was true, Clarke pushed aside the thought that getting close to Lexa as a friend also interested her; mainly because she couldn't understand it herself. There was more to the hostile brunette than she let on, Clarke saw a flash of it at Starbucks last night, and she was intrigued.

* * *

"Lex- Come on. You have to lighten up a bit. Coach is concerned you're freezing out any possibility at good team dynamic." Anya pried.

Lexa sighed and dropped her book to her lap, "They have so much work to do and if we spend time being their best friends they're going to think it's acceptable to slack off-."

Anya interrupted. "No they wont, right now they're all afraid of you- except Griffin who seems to be weirdly driven by your hate. She's a glutton for punishment, I suppose, but its almost cute right? She's cute. You said it yourself last year." She teased, nudging the younger brunette. "Hey I'm all about winning, you know that but we have to be a team in order to do that. I don't want to pull rank on you because you're my best friend, but please make an effort. Team unity is vital, you know this." She pleaded.

"I'll make and effort." Lexa complied, stealing a glance at Clarke who now sat silently sketching in a notebook.

* * *

Immediately upon arrival, the team was directed to the dinning hall to grab dinner, while Anya went off with the coaches to make room assignments. When they returned, Lexa knew something was off. Anya was trying to evade eye contact and conceal a smirk. Lexa swore if she roomed with anyone other than Anya or Luna, she might lose it.

"Ladies, welcome to Camp TonDC. Please respect the grounds; it is a beloved place for our school and athletic program. Many teams have been brought together here, and we hope the same will happen with you. These few days are about bonding as your teammates should always be your family, you need to trust them as such, uplift them, and always offer unwavering support. Alternatively, you must also earn trust and support to be apart of this family. I know the division between rookies, veterans and even our transfers is strong, but that will come to an end. We are one team, so you will become better acquainted with each other with these next few days." Coach Titus monologued.

Lexa realized immediately that with such a speech would come interesting rooming situations to promote unity between rookies, veterans and transfers. She groaned inwardly shooting a deathly look to Anya who once again pretended to evade her green eyes.

Clarke wasn't opposed to being separated from Octavia and Raven, but the thought of rooming with her more hostile veteran teammates made her nervous. Competing with them is one thing; living with them would be another entirely. She wouldn't be winning them over with her work ethic, but would have to offer a winning personality, which she wasn't sure she had.

"When I call your names you can proceed to your rooms. You will be dismissed past that point and free to do as you would like. Please be in your cabins by midnight, as we do have a run in the morning- and it will be timed." Indra called.

Two by two veterans and rookies were paired, soon Octavia and Raven were off with their respective roommates. Clarke could see where this was going. "Clarke and Lexa, cabin 5." Indra revealed.

Both girls sat still in their seats; Anya suppressed a laugh along with Octavia as the new roommates scurried out of the hall. Clarke faked a tight-lipped smile as the rooms were finished being called and stood to follow a clearly displeased Lexa to their cabin. It consisted of two small single beds separated by a bedside table with a lamp. _Not much privacy,_ Clarke thought.

Clarke waited at the door for Lexa to choose a bed, and settled in after her unsure of what to say. Before she had to, Lexa was out the door again, leaving Clarke to unpack alone.

* * *

"O, I'm serious she fucking haaaates me." Clarke whined. The girls had mostly settled by the fire pit as the sun slowly set.

"I mean, she's good when she warms up to you I promise. You'll see later in the season…. Maybe. I think, I just say that because she never hated me as much as she hates you…hahahah" Echo busted out laughing.

Only Luna held back laughter to look concerned. "Yes, Lexa isn't always the warmest person, but she doesn't hate you. Just talk to her, and don't show her you're intimated, I think she feeds on that."

" Incoming" Octavia nodded in Anya and Lexa's direction. Anya held a duffle under her arm as they approached.

"Alright ladies we need to break the tension, now normally I don't condone this but were at TonDC and survived maybe the worst part of training camp, so I thought…maybe we can have a little fun." She smirked pulling a large bottle of booze out of the bag. The girls broke into cheer.

"Hey, shut up, unless you want Coach to come out here. Keep this quiet or we're dead tomorrow." Lexa chided.

Clarke was surprised when Lexa was the first to pour herself a drink, refusing juice to mix. The girls laughed and talked around the fire, exchanging stories from past seasons of basketball, ex boyfriends, current boyfriends and Octavia's favorite conversation; Lincoln. It was nice to see the barriers dropping and the girls becoming friends. Maybe, just maybe this season wouldn't be so horrible, Clarke thought.

Luna interrupted the team to request they play a drinking game called "Never Have I Ever". Basically, everyone who had ever been in high school, had been introduced to the game in some way. When someone said something they hadn't done, all those who have, took a drink.

"I'll go first" Raven said, "never have I ever…. fantasized about a member of the men's basketball team." She laughed, eyeing Octavia. Most of the girls drank and giggled out names ranging from Finn, to Lincoln and even Monty. Anya, Lexa and Clake remained unmoved. The game continued on, the typically giggly admissions to streaking, petty theft, and wild nights of drinking. The game turned rather pointed, and it was Clarke's turn. With the last few round Clarke had drank quiet a bit, and could feel the slight effects of alcohol.

"Never have I ever… fouled out of a game" she spoke, keeping it as PG as possible.

"Octavia, you better finish that drink girl, I've seen those stats" Anya laughed pointing at her friend. They had been roommates for all of 4 hours and were already acting like besties, it annoyed Clarke slightly, especially since Octavia was the closest person she had at Polis.

"Really princess? Have you ever even picked up a foul?" Lexa called bitterly after taking the drink.

Clarke was unsurprised to see all the veterans drink along with Lexa; truthfully it was what they were known for. They were an aggressive team and always outworked their opponents, unfortunately it led to them picking up many aggressive fouls. Never lazy fouls like reaching, if Clarke could remember, but much like Octavia, bulldozing down girls who stood in their way. " Yes, I have for your information" she clarified to Lexa, staring down the girl who simply laughed her off. The conversation quickly shifted back to the game.

"Never have I ever thrown an elbow at Luna down in the paint." Anya laughed staring directly at a clueless Octavia.

" Me?! We haven't even scrimmaged yet! Why are you looking at me?" She defended quickly.

Clarke's eyes went wide with realization. " Oh my god, O you did."

Luna nodded.

"Last year, the road game against Polis? The drop step that ended with your elbow in her face and you fouled out. You almost caused that bench clearing." Clarke said jogging her memory.

" OH fuck! Luna I'm so sorry that I'm such a dick." She said pulling the taller girl into an overdramatic hug, receiving laughs from the team.

"You see! This is why they hate us." Clarke laughed.

"We don't hate you! You were just the enemy, we have to give you a hard time." Anya laughed.

" -and you haven't really told us why you transferred." Emori stated gaining curious nods from the group.

"Yeah Clarke, what drove the princess from her castle. You were the top ranked rookie and you left? You were already a starter by the end of your seasons, the both of you." Lexa stated loosely; the alcohol Clarke noted was having some effect. Despite the slur, Lexa's eyes were pinned on her blue ones.

Here it was again. Exactly what the blonde didn't want to get into. Does she lie again or another half truth? She went with the latter. "My teammates… our teammates, weren't the most supportive. We had our differences and couldn't work through them," she stated, hoping that would be enough.

"-and now we're here with you gorgeous bitches. " Octavia continued removing the tensions and winking at Clarke.

Everyone moved on- but Lexa remained staring, Clarke was uncomfortable under her gaze. Not wanting her emotions to give away her distress, she got up to return to her cabin, waving Octavia off to stay put.

* * *

 _Fuck, fuck fuck fuck_. The last thing she wanted was her problems from the Ark following her here, but here they were, resurfacing. She should have known it was not going to be that easy to restart. Clarke slammed a pillow over her face yelling in frustration, holding back tears as the memories from last season flooded her mind.

"Griffin…. " A voice said from the doorway. Lexa stood in her short jean shorts and Polis basketball hoodie, her long wavy brown hair pulled to one side and cascading down the front of her sweater. Clarke was so used to seeing her hair pulled back tightly she hadn't noticed how nice the brunettes hair was now that they were in the light. What caught her most though, was her presence at all. Why would she care to check on her? She could almost see the girl's brain working, trying to decide what to say. "I should apologize for my behaviour." Lexa choked out finally.

"Pardon? You're apologizing? " Clarke said in disbelief.

"Correct, I should not have pushed so hard; it clearly upset you. I also haven't been acting like a very good teammate, I'm sorry," she said stepping into the room and sitting on her bed.

Clarke continued staring in disbelief with her heart racing, clearly nervous about having any sort of civil conversation with the older girl. "I appreciate that...but I- I mean, can I ask why you seem to dislike me so much, I haven't done anything to you, have I?" She said showing more vulnerability in her voice than she would have liked.

Lexa visibly softened at Clarke's words, seemingly feeling guilty. "I'm just focused, on my own stuff, on the teams success, and setting a precedence now. When Anya is gone next year I'm the only captain, and I felt like I had to establish dominance. It came off wrong."

"You set that in the way you train and compete. You don't have to shut us out." Clarke retorted. Clarke wanted to ask why she was harsher on her, but felt lucky to get this out of the girl as it was, and didn't want to push the matter.

"You're right. I'll be better…are you okay? You screamed, immaturely into your pillow." Lexa almost smiled.

Clarke rolled her eyes and slumped back embarrassed that Lexa had seen that. She felt an explanation was necessary. " It's just that, I'm not the best about talking about last year. I had a really hard time at Arkadia. I wasn't treated very well; Octavia was really my only friend and the only one to stick by me. When I wanted to go, she was right there. So we left and came here. And I just don't want it to happen here. I guess I'm wound up a little too tight about it."

"What happened? I know we're not friends… at all actually. So… actually you don't have to answer that. I'm sorry for prying." Lexa blurted shaking her head. Unsure as to why she was even so curious about the blonde's past, one she clearly didn't want to divulge; it was out of character for her and inwardly chastised herself.

Clarke had no reason to tell Lexa anything. The most talking they had done, civilly at least had been in the last 10 minutes and 2 minutes of their conversation at Starbucks. So she had no idea why she divulged the one thing she meant to hide, to the one person who seemingly liked her least.

"I was comfortable with them, I trusted them and came out as Bisexual because of a small crush on a girl on the soccer team. Apparently, it's distracting and 'not appropriate' given the locker room situation. They made this bullshit petition saying it made them uncomfortable to have me change in the same room. The coaches allowed their petition and things got worse from there. They told all the other athletic teams, and while some people were supportive, it was funnier to them to make my season terrible." She emptied. For a brief moment, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. Until she saw Lexa's shocked expression and a hundred tons more came crashing back.

For the second time, real expression filled Lexa's eyes; sympathy. "Clarke, I'm- " but she was cut off by Clarke.

"-OH MY GOD, I have no idea why I just told YOU that. Fuuuuck me. Looks like I'm fucking transferring again." She cussed slumping back in her bed.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm sorry your other team was so bigoted. I can promise you that myself, and the rest of _our_ team doesn't care about your sexual orientation. You should have figured the only thing I care about is your playing ability. The rest is not relevant information," she assured. Almost to prove a point she stood and turned her back to Clarke slipping off her hoodie, T-shirt and unhooked her bra, changing into another shirt to sleep in. Clarke noted that her back, like the rest of her body was immaculately sculpted and to her surprise, intricately tattooed. While she had noticed the obvious one on her arm, she hadn't considered the rigid girl to have more.

She snapped back to attention. "Ugh... That means a lot. Especially coming from you. But can you not say anything... To anyone. I'm just not ready for all that."

"Sure Clarke." Lexa said slipping into bed. "We may not be friends. But we're teammates, and here at Polis you can always trust your teammates." she smiled. "And besides, we're one for one now. I don't want the girls to know I'm getting special treatment by having a job, and I wont say anything about this. Not even your weird little meltdown." She reassured.

To be honest, Clarke had almost forgotten about the job part, but it helped to know they shared something. She wasn't sure if it was the thoughtful words or the first time she had seen a genuine smile from her, but she was awestruck and needed to change to subject "are you ever going to be my friend?"

"Doesn't seem likely, Griffin." Facing the opposite way, both girls smiled to themselves and settled into bed.


	5. Chapter 5: As A Team

**Chapter 5: As A Team**

* * *

Clarke was awakened much earlier than anticipated by a visibly irritated Coach Indra; even Lexa who was suppose to be helping Anya lead the run was surprised by their wake up call. They were simply instructed to meet at the outdoor basketball court. The girls wordlessly complied exiting their cabins with basketball shoes in tow. Before Clarke could ask Lexa many questions, the girl had taken off to walk with Anya.

"Octavia, do you know what's going on? I through we were just running later on this morning?" Clarke asked.

"Yeah, Anya thinks coach may have found our bottle last night. We left it with the rookies when we went to bed, not sure if they cleaned it up. Basically, we're about to die." Octavia said, voice laced deep in sleep.

Octavia was right, when the girls reached the court both coaches stood arms crossed with a look of such distain; it made Lexa seem like a care-bear. At their feet sat the large, now empty bottle of vodka; they were caught.

"Morning. You ladies seem…. Shocked? But not as shocked as me this morning on my rounds, to find this garbage left on our grounds." Coach Titus spoke slowly and angrily. "You know drinking during training is strictly prohibited, you were also told to respect these grounds and here you go, drinking and discarding your trash where ever it may fall. Needless to say, we are disgusted in your behaviour. Lace up. Hit the baseline."

The girls did as instructed with no one bothering to make a single sound. Over the next hour, they were put through countless suicides, and wind sprints. Clarke realized quickly that many of the girls had a lot more to drink after her and Lexa left, and emptied the contents of their stomachs onto the grass. While Clarke was able to refrain from vomiting; every part of her body burned with exhaustion. She couldn't catch a full breath before being instructed to run again and again. Coach Indra detailed the last set and the girls were able to power through, but just barley. When they had finished they all slumped to the ground desperately gasping for air. Clarke noticed Lexa who for the first time, actually looked exhausted, but refusing to let herself sit.

"Behind every great team, there is great leadership. With my team, accountability is key; you have suffered together as a team, but your captain's here need to take further accountability. They failed to lead you in the direction of success last night. Lexa, Anya, baseline please." Coach Indra instructed. All the girls stared in confusion, Anya and Lexa complied easily, their exhaustion evident in their slow strides.

Without much thinking, Clarke stood and joined them on the baseline receiving confused looks from the team.

"Just the captains, Griffin." Coach Titus reminded.

"I understand what you're doing, but if you want accountability, neither of my captains forced me to drink. I also understand that this is an exercise in leadership, but its also one in teamwork. I'll gladly run with my teammates." Clarke said strongly.

The coaches remained silent as Octavia and Raven stood, flanked by the rest of the team, all reporting to the baseline along side their captains. Clarke looked to Anya and Lexa, who both smiled slightly.

Titus looked to the team before him. "I'm proud of your choice today, despite the overall circumstances… just, 5 suicides and you're done for the morning. We shall see you at breakfast."

* * *

Clarke lay on her bed, fearing any movement may make her puke after the day's intensive training. Through it all, Lexa had been suspiciously quiet, and Clarke caught her staring more than a few times. Now with time to sit and reflect, Clarke became worried. What if Lexa was weirded out by her coming out last night? What if she was uncomfortable and the events of last year would repeat itself? Did her Standing up for the captain make things more awkward? Clarke's worrying drove her to her feet to find the brunette. She hadn't seen her since everyone dispersed to shower and change after dinner.

Clarke didn't make it far before she heard commotion coming from the neighboring cabin. She spotted Anya charging in the same direction, shooting her a concerned look as she approached. Clarke started in the same direction, picking up her pace to a jog despite her soreness. As she got closer, she heard yelling that was all too familiar, Octavia. Clarke busted into the cabin with Anya in tow to see Emori, Echo, Caris and an fuming Lexa. The brunette Co-captain stood defensively scowling at the girls with fists balled.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!" She yelled in a deep almost guttural voice that momentarily took Clarke back. The three girls stopped grinning and immediately choked out excuses.

"C'mon it was a joke, we didn't know she'd be freaking out like that." Emori explained. Clarke immediately scanned the room, she had heard Octavia before, but now it was silent, making her panic when she didn't immediately see her.

" Where is she?" Clarke yelled, tone almost matching Lexa's. Caris pointed to the tiny linen closet in response. The latch was drawn with the padlock firmly closed. Similar locks were all over the cabins and camp ground to secure the camp belongings in the off season.

Echo reached up extending the key in her hand. Lexa snatched it from her hand and without taking her eyes off the three girls, handed it to Clarke. The blonde quickly unlocked the door to find Octavia hugging her knees, hyperventilating.

"Lexa, we didn't think she was afraid of the dark." Emori smirked.

"She's claustrophobic you fucking pricks." Clarke sneered, leaving her friends side to charge at the three. She was immediately stopped by Anya, "Clarke, take Octavia somewhere, Lexa will deal with them," she instructed. Clarke wavered for a moment before turning back to a tear stained, defeated Octavia and guiding her from the cabin.

She and Clarke went to the dock on the lake and sat in silence for a few moments, knowing Octavia wasn't great about opening up. Clarke laced her fingers with Octavia's and squeezed as they watched the sun setting on the lake. When Octavia straightened her shoulders again and lifted her chin, breath evening out finally, Clarke took that as a green light. "We can transfer again. We've barely started." She only half joked.

Octavia smiled slightly. "We're not going anywhere, Griff. I still need to make Lincoln fall in love with me and father my children."

Clarke laughed loudly. "Well, I'm glad you can still joke right now. I'm very pissed off. If you change your mind we can do it. You transferred for me."

"I'm upset too, but it's a rookie hazing thing. There's no way they would have known. My fault really, its something I haven't been able to get over you know?" Octavia said quietly, her insecurity resurfacing.

"Hey hey…. This is never your fault. You've been through hell, you're allowed to have scars, O." Clarke said, pulling the girl into a hug. Octavia sat for a while longer in silence with her head on Clarke's shoulder. The blonde hated to admit it, but it was almost nice to not be the one needing comforting. For their whole friendship, it was Clarke crying on Octavia's shoulder.

They were broken up by the sound of footsteps approaching them on the dock. They turned to see Anya and Lexa wearing matching sympathetic smiles. "Hey, Octavia, we're so sorry that happened. I have no idea what got into those girls, and that is not how we treat teammates here….it's not how we treat family." Anya spoke evenly.

"They'll be receiving their punishment for the rest of the night. " Lexa added seriously.

"Thanks guys, if its okay, I kind of just want to move on." Octavia said. Anya nodded and forced a smile "Sure, no problem. I think Raven and Harper found the old Frosh Week Paintball guns. Wanna head over and see what they're up to? Raven twirling a loaded gun could be entertaining." Anya offered.

Octavia laughed and nodded, pushing herself up from her seat. Clarke remained, "I'm going to stay for a little bit, I'll catch up."

Lexa wavered for a second "You guys go, I could use some quiet." She said, looking to Clarke for permission to sit. Clarke nodded, remembering that she wanted to clear the air with Lexa.

The other two girls left without another word. When they were effectively out of earshot, Clarke spoke up "That was fucked up! I know O wants to drop it but I'm so fucking pissed off," she ranted, taking Lexa by surprise.

"I understand. I'm dealing with them, I promise. They're be running sprints until the sun is down. Then they'll be issuing Octavia an apology." Lexa replied calmly, not looking up from the water.

"She won't want that. The apology, I mean. She will want to move on and not think about it. She had a rough childhood to put it lightly, and it's not something she should have to relive." Clarke spoke pointedly.

"Alright. As you wish, Clarke." Lexa sighed before continuing, "about earlier on the field, it was very….gallant of you to stand up and run with us. It's the kind of teamwork we need here. Thank you."

Clarke couldn't stop herself from smiling. "Gallant?"

"Well I didn't want to say chivalrous, I figured it was too strong a word. You're a good teammate Clarke, but you're not a Knight." Lexa smiled slightly. Clarke was already beginning to tell her real smiles from her fake. Her real smile, like now, reached her green eyes, making them almost sparkle more than usual.

"Oh so you kind of meant chivalrous though? That's cool. I'm a total gentleman." Clarke laughed, joking to see Lexa's smile widen. The flutter in Clarke's stomach let her know that she wanted to be the reason for that smile again.

As much as Clarke didn't want to change the mood of their talk, she knew she would have to address their conversation last night at some point. "Hey, Lexa, about what I told you last night… I"

" Clarke… " Lexa cut her off. " It's fine. Don't ramble; I'm not going to tell anyone, I'm not uncomfortable. I'm not like your last teammates. Trust me." Lexa said, staring back into Clarke blue eyes. Clarke smiled and nodded, looking bashful. The expression caught Lexa off guard and made her stomach flip. As a knee jerk reaction, Lexa turned away and focused back on the water.

"Thank you, It means more than you know." Clarke said simply.

"Does this mean we're friends?" Clarke teased

Lexa laughed. "Not quite, Griffin," the smirk lingered on Lexa's face for the rest of the night.

* * *

Anya let out a long groan before slumping down in a lawn chair next to Lexa. Lexa looked up from the scene unfolding in front of her. All the girls were gathered by the fire pit, laughing and yelling with each other. Octavia was in significantly better spirits, as she laughed with Mel, Harper, Raven and Clarke.

"What do you think? We got a good group?" Anya asked.

"I think so, we all have to get on the same page. But they're getting there." Lexa examined.

"Hey remember when you said Clarke was cute last year?" Anya laughed, playfully shoving the younger girl.

Lexa shot a dirty look. "Why do you even remember that? A hundred other things happened that game and you remember me passively calling someone cute."

"Because it's you lex, and you don't think anyone is cute. It's worth remembering."

Lexa rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

"Well, anyways, I'm glad you've made an effort. You guys seem to be more alike than you'd think." Anya tested.

"She's not so bad, but we're not going to be braiding each others hair at sleepovers just yet."

"Don't worry, that is certainly not something I could see you doing." Anya laughed.

* * *

The next few days were filled with more team building exercises that could be found at a lame office retreat than actual basketball practice. Lexa hated these cheesy games, but she would have to admit, they did a lot to bring the girls closer; they all seemed to bond over the humor in it. For the first time they were beginning to look like a team. They teased each other without edge or condescension, and enjoyed actually getting to know each other. Lexa had to admit, Anya was right, turning down the heat improved morale, and even the rookies seemed to be less on edge with her presence, even opting to speak to her first. It was a nice feeling, to have the team feel like family, but also have the respect gained from being a co-captain, something she didn't believe could really happen.

Lexa was especially surprised at how her and Clarke interacted. She was unsure if Clarke was being so overly friendly as a means of keeping on her good side, because of her admission to being bisexual. While anyone's sexual orientation was no matter of concern, she could empathize with Clarke's situation. She could see how visibly uncomfortable she got when even the general topic of anything LGBTQ came up in team conversation, or when raven teased Clarke about Finn on the men's team liking her. Lexa wouldn't say she was nicer to the blonde out of sympathy for her situation, but something was contributing to her attitude change. While she wouldn't admit it out loud, she was actually starting to like having Clarke around.


	6. Chapter 6: Warning Signs

A/N:  
Wow! I cannot thank you guys enough for the kind responses! You're incredible!

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Warning Signs**

In the days following Camp TonDC, team morale was incredible. Octavia, Emori, Caris and Echo had made peace and were on the fast track to friendship. The team had finally begun on court practices now that training camp was completed. For the first time since getting there, Clarke felt like she was finally contributing something to the team; she had a role.

Coach Indra and Coach Titus seemed happy with her staying as the 4 position, occupying the high-post; especially since how well her and Octavia communicated and ran the high-low. Playing with Octavia on the floor was almost too easy for Clarke; in fact, they rarely had to speak to know what each other wanted to do. Clarke was expert at getting Octavia the ball on the low block, and Octavia had a sixth sense for knowing exactly when Clarke wanted to drive to the rim, and when she would either go up for the layup or dish it out to the short corner for Octavia's shot. As a result of their impressive practices, Luna amped up her physical game, as to now allow Octavia to out work her. The friendly competition within the team didn't affect them off the court, but only served to keep them working hard. It was the type of environment Lexa loved. For the team, things were looking great which allowed for the two captains to ease off and just enjoy pre-season practices.

Additionally, that week classes begun, and practices scaled back. Clarke initially looked forward to making friends outside of athletics, but that proved to be more difficult than she had anticipated. Coming into her Pre-Med program as a second year meant that everyone had their established friend and study groups, leaving her to her own devices when it came to school work.

* * *

Coach Titus was so pleased with their week of practice, he allowed the girls to have Friday through Sunday off, only asking them to get in the gym to lift on their own time. The days off couldn't have come at a better time for Clarke, as she was already falling behind in readings for her classes. She could not complete them at home because Raven was usually blasting music in her room, tinkering with some hands-on mechanical engineering project of the day. She wouldn't sit with Octavia at the library anymore since Lincoln became accustomed to joining them and the two neglected their work altogether to flirt. She even tried to go to the team locker room to read, but was interrupted by Anya who insisted they go lift together. Friday afternoon after her last class, she set out for the last place she knew she wouldn't be bothered; Starbucks.

She walked in took a seat at the large wooden worktable. She took a second to marvel in the quiet, slow alternative music playing, and the absence of everyone else pestering her. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself, almost giddy at the fact that she could work in such a nice unobtrusive environment.

"This isn't a place to nap, Clarke." _So close._ She thought before opening her eyes to see Lexa, dressed in all black with her green apron under her arm, and a drink in another hand.

"I was just appreciating how quiet it was" Clarke smirked. " I didn't see you when I came in."

" Yeah I was just in the back restocking before I clock out. I saw you come in on the camera. I – ugh , I got you a drink. It's not what you got last time but I thought you might like it. You look like you could use the caffeine"

"Thanks, I really appreciate the nice way you tell me I look like shit." Clarke joked, taking the drink from Lexa's tattooed arm.

"Now that I've paid you off, do you mind if I get some work done with you? I usually do my homework here after work anyways." Lexa offered, seeming nervous.

Clarke smiled " Not at all. Go ahead. I suppose I'm the intruder here."

Lexa smiled and went to the back to retrieve her backpack. Sure, Clarke was hoping for alone time to be doing work, but if she was going to be distracted, she was kind of okay that it was by Lexa's intrusion. When she returned, Clarke was surprised that all she offered was a soft smile and immediately began getting to work, typing away at her Macbook. They stayed that way, quietly working for about two hours. It was nice to have the company, and have the company respect the beautiful quiet as much as Clarke did.

Clarke came to the end of one of her readings and closed her book, and leaned back to stretch. The action caught Lexa's attention who closed her laptop and yawned. "All done?"

Clarke shook her head "no, not really I just can't look at those words anymore."

"I know what you mean. What program are you in, I've never asked." Lexa tried.

"Pre-Med. All of my credits transferred so I'm entering as I should, in 2nd year."

Lexa raised her eyebrows and nodded. "Impressive. Why medicine."

"My mom is an Ortho-surgeon, so I've always been fascinated with the human body. It helped that I also like helping people…being useful, I suppose. I just don't think I could be in a career where I felt like I wasn't impacting someone's life positively, you know?" The blonde rambled.

" Yeah, I get it. Has it always been medicine? I'm pretty sure every little girl wanted to be a princess or marine biologist right?" Lexa laughed.

Every time she laughed, Clarke couldn't help but to smile.

"Hah, no. I wanted to be an artist; I was good, but again. I wanted to help people, be impactful."

Lexa furrowed her eyebrows and leaned in seriously. "Art does help people, artists matter. For thousands of years art has helped reflect our histories, revealed hidden truths, and shaped or future. Art matters. If I could draw, I'd probably never stop."

Clarke smiled at her thoughtful words. "What about you? A princess?"

" A knight actually. Of the round table; Nobel and strong. I even spent a week as a kid linking chainmail out of paper clips." She laughed. " And now, I'm in law and justice. I'm actually hoping to do my masters degree in international human rights."

"Nothing about that surprises me." Clarke beamed, earning a blush from the brunette "so at TonDC when you called me gallant but said I wasn't a knight? Is that because you know all the criteria for one? " Clarke joked.

Lexa played along, "Absolutely. We're not a chess club, you can't just join. It takes lots of work and training."

" Oh? Is that because you're the admittance committee? The leader?"

Lexa faked a hurt expression, holding a hand over her chest. "A commander actually, so stick to your well-guarded tower, princess", she corrected.

Clarke rolled her eyes and smiled, Lexa returned the gesture; both of them lingering in the playful banter of their newfound friendship. Clarke pushed away the butterfly feeling that had been coming along with her interactions with the captain. So, she changed the subject once again, " Lexa if you don't mind me asking, why the change of heart. You really seemed to hate me at first."

Lexa frowned slightly. "I thought you were a deserter honestly. Jumping ship from Arkadia because we have a better chance at winning a championship. I hate players like that. Loyalty is first, and we've had a lot of deserters come thought this team, they never last long when they realize how much work we put in to get to where we are. It's not a free ride. Of course, you and Octavia…your circumstances were different. I'm sorry I didn't take the time to figure that out, but I guess we're all just used to not getting attached to transfers or rookies."

" I can understand that. But I must say, it's much nicer to see this side of you."

They both smiled once again. Wanting to break up the awkward air Clarke cleared her throat and asked, " so um, the girls were saying everyone's going to some bar? I don't suppose you're going."

"The Drop Ship, yeah I'm going. Why wouldn't I?" Lexa questioned.

"Well, you just don't seem like the 'get drunk and dance' type, or the type to spend two hours getting ready to impress the men's team." Clarke said, but immediately chastised herself for making assumptions.

"While I enjoy a good bourbon on the rocks here and there, I rarely get drunk. And I also have no interest in our men's team, trust me". She answered, making a disgusted face.

Clarke's eyebrow quirked, "so you dance then?"

" I dabble"

" You dabble in dance? " Clarke laughed.

"I guess you'll see, that is if you're planning on spending two hours to impress one of the guys, and happen to grace me with your presence." Lexa smirked.

" Well now you have me intrigued…and I won't be there for any of them." _Shit am I flirting? Get it together Griffin._

Lexa squinted for a second, seemingly taking in Clarkes rushed words. "Well then, I'll see you at the Drop Ship."

Clarke began packing up her stuff. She hadn't really planned on leaving but this conversation was getting to be a bit too much, and she honestly did not know what else to do than runaway from it. "Yeah I'll see you... I ugh. I gotta go. I should um… nap before going out."

"Nap?" Lexa laughed.

" Yeah I'm ugh, I'm a tired person." Clarke blurted quickly. Clarke stood and waved quickly, exiting the Starbucks and taking a deep breath and gathering her self. _Maybe I should be putting a little more effort into my outfit tonight._

* * *

" Ugh oh, that's the classic Clarkey panic face, where we transferring to now ?" Octavia joked, jumping on Clarke's bed beside her.

 _Do I tell Octavia? What do I say, "I'm developing a weird crush on Lexa, the person who started this year hating me?"... no why would I say that…. I don't have a crush on Lexa, I'm just awkward., I just want to be her friend and I'm trying too hard. That's all. Yeah, that's it. Get it together Clarke._

"Hello, earth to Clarke? I'm talking to you." Octavia waved in front of her eyes, pulling the blonde from her inner dialogue.

Clarke blinked into consciousness for a second " um, nothing's wrong…just thinking?"

"Thinking about what?"

" Um… what I'm going to wear to The Drop Ship tonight…" she lied.

Octavia excitedly clapped her hands. " Ooh you're coming!? Perfect I thought I'd have to drag you out of here. I'll help you if you help me. Lincoln's going and I need to look hot. Is that why you're worried, trying to impress Finn maybe?"

Raven's voice called from the hall as she approached Clarke's bedroom "I think Clarke wants to look hot, but probably not for Finn I've gathered." She smirked.

Clarke's eyes shot up to meet Raven's.

 _Did she know? She doesn't even know I'm bisexual. Why would she know anything else?_

"You're right, I don't care about looking any sort of way for Finn." Clarke clarified.

" For a certain Captain then?" Raven raised her eyebrows awaiting an answer.

Octavia and Clarke shot her the same surprised look. "What I'm observant? You haven't noticed Clarke breaking her back to impress Lexa since training camp or their new giggly friendship?" Raven reasoned.

" Are you high? Lexa treated us like shit, why would Clarke like her?" Octavia fired back before catching herself and adding, "also, Clarke's like super straight…"

Clarke rolled her eyes at her best friend's failed defense. "Okay first, I would like to impress Lexa because like I told you before, I want to be her friend and not get insulted every three minutes… and second… I'm straight." She said rather unconvincingly.

Raven laughed, and slowly backed out of the room "Sure ya are, Clarkey."

Clarke and Octavia exchanged a wide-eyed look.

* * *

"You look good." Anya said suspiciously.

" Thanks? I washed my hair…." Lexa half joked and went back to adjusting her outfit in the mirror. She wore a tight black crop top with black jeans and a red flannel shirt tied around her waist with her hair up in a perfectly placed curly ponytail. It was definitely a change from her usual blue jeans or track-pants and Polis basketball tee.

"I've never seen you get so dressed up for The Drop Ship. You're never there to impress anyone. Why is tonight different?" Anya questioned.

Lexa looked up from her mirror and turned to Anya. " It's not, I just thought I'd… switch it up a bit and take a little longer than 5 minutes to get ready."

"Hey, seriously…. Don't do anything stupid. I know you, and I know those heart eyes when I see them. There's no place for that on our team all right? Even thinking about it is unlike you. Besides, she's straight, so cut it out." Anya warned. Despite the stern tone, Lexa knew it was in her best interest. Sure, Anya was a little ahead of herself, she hadn't even considered the idea herself, and she'd never jeopardize any team dynamic for something so ridiculous as a crush. A crush she didn't have….. _right?_

* * *

So when I wrote this chapter, it ended up being crazy long so I broke it up. Expect the next chapter to be out very soon!


	7. Chapter 7: Lust, Not Like

**Chapter 7: Lust, Not Like**

* * *

Clarke could see the nerves working overtime in Octavia, which was rather strange since very few things on this earth scared or even made the girl nervous. She didn't even get pre-game nerves, let alone getting clammy over a guy.

Clarke watched as she fidgeted with her outfit as the music boomed loud inside the club. Thanks to Octavia's nerves, the three showed up to The Drop Ship earlier than everyone else. Although, Raven did not seem to mind and was already off dancing with some she recognized from the Mech- Engineering program.

"You look great, I told you. Lincoln will be blown away." Clarke reassured.

"arrgh I'm sweating already. I'm freaking out. Like, its way bigger than hanging out in the library. Libraries aren't sexy." Octavia moaned.

"Want a drink? It'll help you settle down. I'll be back." Clarke replied and began wading through the crowd. With The Drop Ship being the best bar in Polis, it was understandably packed despite there being two separate floors and a patio with music ranging from top 100 pop to hip-hop reggae and RnB, or so she heard. In their 20 minutes, the group had opted to not explore until now as Clarke bumped her way to the bar and retrieved drinks.

We she returned, Bellamy, Lincoln, Monty, Finn and Jasper were standing around their table talking.

"Thanks, Clarke!" Octavia beamed.

"You beat me to it Griffin, seems you're more chivalrous than I." Lincoln smiled brightly at Octavia, earning a slap across the head from Bellamy with a knowing look. Their voices lowered and Clarke lost whatever words they had exchanged. She could probably guess the warning Bellamy gave.

"So Clarke, how are you for a dance?" Finn asked, invading her personal space. By the scent on his breath he had already been drinking.

"Simple, I don't." She replied turning to greet Jasper and Monty.

The group talked for a while when Clarke felt a playful shove on her shoulder, turning to find the Veterans.

Clarke immediately noticed Lexa and Luna's absence and inquired. "Upstairs, they're really not into the pop genre." Anya called, before spotting Lincoln and racing over, punching him in the shoulder. The two seemed close by their interactions; laughing loudly and playfully hitting each other. From an outsiders perspective they could be siblings.

Clarke leaned forward to Octavia, who did not seem to be enjoying being ignored by Lincoln. "Hey I'm going to go check out upstairs. Wanna come?" Octavia nodded and stood, sliding away from the table. On their way to the stairs, Octavia pulled at Raven who brought along the guy she had been dancing with.

Upstairs seemed like a completely different club. It felt about 10 degrees hotter, was darker and even louder than downstairs. Due to the amount of people dancing and pressed against one another, there was very little room to be moving about. The group stood taking in their surroundings, everyone seemingly as taken back as Clarke was.

Raven adapted first smiling as the song changed to a Drake song Clarke only vaguely knew. Raven grabbed at them to follow her to the dance floor, but Clarke hung back alone, hoping to spot Lexa in the crowd.

She strained to see the dance floor but wasn't able to find the captain or Luna in the crowd, instead she settled for laughing at her friends. Octavia and Raven didn't have any issues dancing to the song, immediately on beat and mouthing the words to the song, laughing at each other's exaggerated movements. Raven's guy-friend didn't fare so well, looking out of his element but doing his best to make Raven laugh. As Clarke watched for a few more minutes, she could start to see a flash of Lexa and Luna, in the middle of the dance floor behind Octavia, who spotted them at the same time and excitedly gave them a hug. Clarke's stomach flipped, immediately nervous and unsure of what to do.

 _I can't dance… why am I up here… Oh god, what am I doing._ She said to herself, but her feet continued to carry her to the group.

As she approached, she saw Lexa say something into Raven's ear who replied by pointing at her as she walked towards them.

 _Was Lexa asking where I was?_

As she got closer, her breath caught in her chest. Lexa looked…. Amazing. She had to force herself to tear her eyes away from her exposed abs, and immediately felt self-conscious with her own outfit. She looked to Luna first who smiled and gave her a hug. As she pulled away she could see Raven nod towards Lexa, widen her eyes and smirk. Clarke chose to toss a dirty look, knowing what the girl was insinuating.

The song changed and the girls all returned to dancing with each other, expect Raven who stayed close with the guy who introduced himself to Luna and Lexa as Wick. Only Lexa remained looking at her and leaned in close to speak "You managed to awaken from your nap, Princess. Glad you could make it." she breathed. Her breath on Clarke's ear sent a shiver up her spine and made her stomach explode with butterflies for the second time that night. The blonde also noted, Lexa smelled of whiskey.

"I take it you had that occasional bourbon on ice?" Clarke replied.

"Well, I had to calm the nerves." Lexa smiled.

"Why were you nervous?" Clarke asked, almost desperately hoping for the only answer that would further complicate things.

Lexa chose to ignore it, unsure of why she had made that admission in the first place. A group dancing then bumped the two knocking them back into the reality that they were the only ones not dancing in the middle of the floor. "Let's dance" Lexa stated.

Clarke shook her head no, not wanting to embarrass herself, but Lexa paid no mind and took Clarke's hand, pulling her closer to the group of friends. Lexa immediately turned to Clarke and smiled, slowly moving to the music. Luna turned to the two and excitedly danced with them, raping the lyrics along with the music. Clarke began to panic and just started moving her feet to the beat of the music and attempted to smile off the evident nerves. When she finally thought she had gotten the beat down, the song made a slow change into a significantly slower reggae song she didn't recognize, but noticed Lexa get excited along side Luna and Raven. Raven immediately began winding slowly into her new friend Wick, who looked just as lost as Clarke. Lexa noticed Clarkes discomfort and took her hands in hers, which did nothing but make Clarke's heart race faster.

Her hands moved from Clarke's to the blonde's hips, as Lexa moved behind her. Lexa pressed herself against Clarke and slowly guided her hips in time and direction with hers.

 _Holy fuck I'm going to pass out. Focus, just focus on the dancing._ Clarke thought to herself and desperately tried to ignore the fact and Lexa was pressed against her. Clarke slowly got used to the beat and was able to dance a little better without Lexa's guidance, and became comfortable enough to copy some of the moves of the girls around her, rolling her hips and grinding her ass into Lexa. Clarke smiled as she felt Lexa stiffen her grip on her in surprise.

* * *

Anya, Lincoln Monty and Finn decided to go upstairs in search of the others. When they got there, Anya immediately spotted her teammates and Lincoln made a beeline for Octavia and the two effortlessly fell into beat together. Anya felt a tap on her arm and looked at finn with a questioning look. He pointed a few feet away from Octavia and saw Lexa and Clarke smiling and grinding to the song. They watched for a minute as Clarke turned to face Lexa and continued dancing, Lexa showing off her moves and grinning wildly at the smiling Clarke.

Anya set her jaw and begun to make her way to the two girls. _I told Lexa, what is she doing?_ She thought angrily to herself. Before she got there, Clarke and Lexa started off in the opposite direction towards the rooftop patio. She had every intention of following them before she felt Lincoln grab her arm and shook his head "no". She knew what he was thinking; that she should leave it alone, and she would… for right now, but it would be a conversation she would be having with Lexa after.

* * *

Lexa led Clarke through the heavy door and into the cold outside air. The patio was significantly less crowded and quieter than inside, creating a stark and almost shocking contrast. Lexa navigated the patio and sat on a bar stool at the end of the bar, motioning for Clarke to take the seat next to her.

Clarke waited for Lexa to say something, but as a few seconds passed in silence Clarke decided to fill the growing awkward silence. "You really surprised me out there."

Lexa threw her head back and laughed, a motion that only occurred when she was truly laughing and not passively going through the motion. It was something Clarke had noted from subconscious observation since arriving at Polis. "Why was that surprising? You thought I'm just some stern, irritable captain that hates fun right?"

"I never said that. Although, I would be lying if I said I didn't think that at first." Clarke teased, earning a playful shove form Lexa.

"You don't dance often I noticed." Lexa stated, no real tone in her words.

Clarke stared back with a shocked expression. "Was I really that bad?"

Lexa back peddled. "No, you just didn't seem to comfortable with the music."

"Well not as comfortable as you… are you like some secret street dancer on the side? I thought you just dabbled." Clarke laughed.

"Ugh, no." Lexa shot back before getting serious "I just really like music, especially music with a lot of rhythm. I used to drum when I was younger, you know, right after the whole Knight phase."

"Well, see something else I didn't know about you. I'm finding out a lot today. I had never even heard that song before tonight."

"Turn Me On?" Lexa asked.

Clarkes eye went wide for a moment, "Pardon?"

"The song we danced to…. It's called 'Turn Me On'" Lexa grinned at Clarke's discomfort.

Clarke chucked, more at herself than anything and had to mentally regroup. Lexa was still looking at her, smirking with pure amusement in her intense green eyes. She wasn't sure if it was Lexa staring or the entire events of tonight thus far, but Clarke was sweating, and panicking. _Goddamn, she looks good. I can at least admit she's hot, especially after that dance. But it doesn't mean I like her. That would be a stupid thing to do, Clarke. She's your straight captain, who only passively enjoys your company._

"What are you thinking, Clarke." Lexa asked.

 _Wow, she makes my name sound so good. "_ Nothing" Clarke lied. _Okay focus._

"I'm just happy we've been able to become friends." Clarke said,

 _Why did I say that?_

"Oh, we're not friends remember? I never agreed to that contract." Lexa teased.

Clarke cocked her head to one side and narrowed her eyes at the brunette. "Excuse me. You cannot dance like _THAT_ with me and just not be my friend."

"It's just dancing Clarke, don't look too far into it… it comes contract free."

 _What the hell does that mean._

"Besides, I don't want to be your friend, Griffin" Lexa smirked again, but quickly let it fade and her eyes were drawn to something behind Clarke. The blonde turned to see Anya and Luna approaching the two. Anya was expressionless, maybe even irritated Clarke noted.

"Are you two going to join the team anytime?" Anya stated blandly staring down Lexa.

"When we're ready. We just needed some air." Lexa stated coldly.

Clarke noticed the entire atmosphere change with their tense conversation but couldn't understand the reasoning behind it.

"Yeah, we saw the dance, no wonder you guys needed to cool down," Luna laughed, clearly not in on the captain's tension.

Clarke was the only one to acknowledge what she had said by fake laughing and standing up, getting the silent queue she should maybe go. " I'm going to go find Octavia and Raven, see how they're doing."

"Oh, well when we left Octavia was yelling at Bellamy and Raven was already going home with that guy, Wick. Actually she told me to wink at you for her. Not sure why." Luna replied.

Clarke rolled her eyes, _of course Raven did._

"Clarke…" Lexa started trying to stop Clarke from leaving.

"Wow, I should really go then, we've all seen Octavia's temper." She ignored Lexa's plea and opted to listen to Anya's glare and get out of the situation. Luna followed behind her, likely picking up on the tension.

Anya quickly took Clarke's seat. "What are you actually doing Lex, I warned you before we left. Like, it's actually been less than three hours."

" Anya, I am not doing anything. I'm not a child and I don't need your warnings." Lexa shot back, immediately irritated.

"Since when do you even act like this? You never even find anyone attractive now you're grinding up on our teammates! You always tell our rookies not to 'shit where you eat' and date the men's team and now a pretty blonde shows up and you turn into a hypocrite." Anya began yelling.

Lexa threw her hands up in frustration. "I'm not dating Clarke, I don't even have feelings for her! It was you who told me to lighten up and the minute I do you act like I'm already two fingers deep in her. I really don't get you, Anya."

"I told you not to be a bitch to them. I told you to be friends with them, but whatever you're doing with Clarke isn't just friendly. I can see it a mile away like I said earlier. You're friends with Raven and Octavia, and Luna and Echo, but you don't look at them with those damn heart eyes you give Clarke all the time. Trust me, I've noticed and I know you. This person right now, this isn't you. It's stupid and it's going to mess up our team and the season hasn't officially started. Get it together Lexa, I need a co-captain not a shooting guard with a 6th grade crush on a straight girl." Anya finished and breathed heavily. For a moment, she regretted the weight of her words, but decided to stand behind them.

There was a lot Lexa wanted to say, there was a lot she could rebuttal, but it wasn't worth it. Anya wouldn't hear it, even if the older girl knew Lexa wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the team's success. Sure, Clarke was very attractive, you'd have to be blind not to see it, but Lexa wasn't going further than that, not even in her own head. However, if others thought she was now being too friendly, it was an issue of favoritism and maybe she should listen to Anya to a certain degree; as much as she hated to admit it.

* * *

The rest of the evening went very strangely and Clarke couldn't help but to zone out and think of her many interactions with Lexa that day. Only two things for the rest of the night caught her attention; the first being the Blake sibling war that occurred. Clarke only arrived half way through but got the jist of it. Apparently, Bellamy warned Lincoln to stay away from Octavia, and got really upset watching them dance together, which only caused for Octavia to discover their agreement and angrily yell at her older brother outside of the club. With that blowout, most people decided it was time to go home.

The second thing that pulled Clarke from her thoughts was Lexa herself. Who left the club with Anya in tow, passing by them and looking but opting to say nothing to Clarke, not even a goodbye. Clarke didn't want to admit it but it bothered her to no end. Now, as Clarke lay in her bed, replaying the events for the 30th time, she grew more irritated in the sudden attitude change.

Clarke heard footsteps crossing the living room that separated the girl's rooms from each other, and instinctively scooted to the left side of the bed, and taking a pillow from underneath her head and placing it on the right side. Without a knock, Octavia came into the room and fell into Clarke's bed, taking the extra pillow in her arms and sighing. For only knowing each other for a year, Clarke caught on to Octavia's tendencies quick. This was the result of Octavia either being too drunk, too sad, or too angry; tonight was a mixture of the three.

Clarke knew she wouldn't have to initiate conversation.

"Bellamy is such a fucking dick." Octavia whined.

Clarke tried her best not to laugh. "He loves you, O."

"If he's going to act like a prick, I don't want to be loved by him" this caused Clarke to snort. Another thing she had realized was that the Blake's disagreed often, but always repaired their issues relatively quick without the need of outside intervention. So now it was comical to see Octavia so whiny over a situation that the blonde was sure, would be cleared up within a day.

They lay in silence for a while as they often did before falling asleep. Octavia rarely needed any advice, just an ear when she was mad. But tonight, Clarke had a lot on her mind as well and opted to not roll over and sleep yet.

"Hey, O." she said out to the silence, hoping her friend was still awake.

"mmm" Octavia tiredly responded.

Clarke chose her words carefully; nervous with how her friend was going to respond. "I'm going to admit something and you can't freak out okay."

"Your little show with Lexa tonight made you wet and you want me to go back to my own room?" Octavia chuckled, clearly joking to irritate the blonde. What she didn't know was that she wasn't far off from the truth.

"Okay, can we be serious for a second?" Clarke breathed.

Clarke's worried tone made Octavia roll over and prop herself up on an elbow, looking directly at Clarke. "Okay, you like Lexa?"

The blonde was momentarily stunned with the educated guess but still corrected the brunette.

"Like is a strong word…" Clarke thought for a second, "but not _like_ ….lust. I think is appropriate word."

Octavia's eyes grew wide with surprise. While she had thought it was a small possibility, she also didn't think it would ever come to light.

Octavia slumped down on the pillows, using one to cover her face. "Oh God, Raven was right."


	8. Chapter 8: New Information, New Pain

**Chapter 7:New information, New pain.**

 **A/N:**

 **I'm very sorry for the late update! I will be speeding up, I promise!**

* * *

The door rattled for a few seconds and Clarke and Octavia both smiled at each other and looked back to the door waiting for Raven to finally figure out the lock. The door swung open and Raven grunted shaking her head in frustration, still wearing last night's clothes.

"Mornin' sunshine. We have your coffee and Clarke made your gross healthy omelet." Octavia smiled, holding up Raven's favorite Starwars mug.

"Figured you'd be home around now." Clarke teased, wiggling her eyebrows.

Raven squinted her eyes at Clarke in mock anger before taking the cup and slumping into the chair. "Seriously. I love you guys. I'd be dead without you today. I needed sustenance." Raven proceeded to eat her spinach omelet ignoring the silence and stares from her roommates.

"So… who's that lucky Wick guy? He was cute, clearly you thought so as well." Octavia pestered.

Raven rolled her eyes and swallowed a lump of toast. "He's in my program, he's cute, but he's just a one time thing."

Clarke laughed at her honesty, "That bad eh?"

"Oh no. He was great, I'm just not trying to get into anything serious." Raven replied frankly. Clarke could respect that; she had been the same way for a long time. In fact her last serious relationship was in the 10th grade and lasted a short 3 months.

The girls silently ate for a few minutes until Raven pushed her plate forward and leaned back in her seat "So are we going to talk about super straight Clarke getting low on Lexa last night or not?"

Octavia laughed and raised her eyebrows at Clarke after her previous nights admission to lusting after Lexa. Clarke quickly shot the conversation down "Not. We're not going to talk about it."

"Okay fine. Then I'll talk to Octavia with you sitting right here about how fucking hot Lexa looked last night, and the way she was moving! Damn…. You can chip in anytime Clarke." Raven smiled, angling her body to face only Octavia but throwing glances to Clarke.

Clarke couldn't help but to laugh. There was something about Raven that Clarke really liked, whether it was her playful banter or her nonchalance, Clarke got the impression she could trust her.

 _Well, last time I trusted my teammates I was effective-immediately discouraged from the team locker room._ Clarke remembered. "Why do you like harassing me so much Raven?"

"Because Clarke, seeing you get red and squirmy when I tease you about Lexa is so worth it." She finished, picking up the toast from Clarke's plate and taking a bite, smirking at the blonde.

Clarke dropped the topic. "Anyways, O you should go talk to Bellamy."

"No, it's only been like 8 hours, I still get to hate him for another 8 at least." Octavia deadpanned, earning laughs from her roommates.

* * *

The day went slow, Clarke hoped Lexa would have texted or something after her odd behaviour after Anya's interruption, but she didn't. Despite having an afternoon off basketball, it wasn't an afternoon off and Clarke had a mountain of reading to accomplish. To kill two birds with one stone, she headed for Starbucks. However, when she realized Lexa was not working, all ambition to finish her readings went out of the window. She made every attempt to focus on the pages in her pre-health books but got nowhere. As a result, she took to the gym in hopes that working out would clear her head.

She expected to find Anya in the change room, which would be its own battle of awkwardness, but it was completely empty. Clarke silently thanked god for that and took a basketball off the rack and headed to the court to work on her shot. As she pushed open the large door she could here the sounds of shoes squeaking and a ball bouncing. She rolled her eyes knowing that someone had occupied the court already. She walked through the door, and immediately stopped. _Lexa_. The door slammed shut, echoing through the room causing the young boy playing defense on Lexa to look Clarke's way. Lexa didn't lift her head, instead bounced the ball off the kids back and completed a layup as he chased after her.

"No fair, I got distracted!" The blonde boy whined as Clarke walked closer.

Lexa held the ball up out of his reach and laughed, "Then don't get distracted. How are you going to play in front of hundreds of people one day when you get distracted by one pretty blonde."

Clarke's stomach flipped. _Did she just call me pretty?_

Lexa turned her attention to the slowly approaching Clarke. "Hello, Clarke."

The blonde studied her captain, _was everything alright? Did I over react last night? She just called me pretty, so is everything fine?_ "Hey Lexa…. And who is this?" she gestured to the boy.

"This is Aidan, he is Coach Titus's nephew, and my biggest fan. Isn't that right Aid?" She rubbed her knuckled on his head, messing up his hair. She smiled so brightly Clarke couldn't help but to gawk.

The boy batted away her hands. "Excuse me, I am not your biggest fan. You're good, but I'm going to be better." He beamed, nudging Lexa and slapping the ball from under her arm, running off to score a basket. "Never get distracted Lexa!" he laughed form the other side of the court.

Lexa rolled her eyes and smiled to herself. Aidan was a cool kid, Lexa did not particularly like kids but Aidan was fun to play around with. Coach had brought him to practice sometimes and he loved the game, they eventually became so fond of each other that she would take him to lunch and shoot around at the gym. It was a nice break from her daily life.

"So, you guys are best friends huh?" Clarke tentatively smiled.

"Yeah, basically. He's funny." Lexa looked on as Aidan shot the ball and rebounded for himself.

"So you ugh, left abruptly last night. I didn't get to say bye." Clarke tested, monitoring Lexa's reaction.

Lexa didn't avoid eye contact. " Yeah, I was a little all over the place. Anya drank too much and wanted to go home so I was focused on that. Sorry. Did you get Octavia home alright?" She lied, and quickly diverted the attention.

Clarke did not buy Lexa's lie even if she did not have any obvious tells. Anya looked fine and did not seem like she had drank much at all, but Clarke chose not to press it.

"Yeah, Octavia was drunk and sad but she got home alright. She climbed right into our bed." Clarke smiled.

Lexa's face dropped and her raised a questioning brow. "Oh… I didn't know you guys were…" Lexa stumbled.

Clarke quickly cut her off, "No no no…. we're not like that. She just jumps in my bed to sleep when she's sad or angry and needs to talk. It's been often so I joke that its our bed. We don't… she's really into Lincoln."

"Oh…. that's good" Lexa replied, relieved.

Now Clarke questioned. "That's good?" the butterflies returned to Clarke's stomach, hoping Lexa's reaction was out of jealousy and relief.

"I mean… like it's not the best idea to sleep with teammates…." Lexa blurted and inwardly scolded herself for a multitude of reasons.

Clarke tried to not look as dejected as she felt. "Oh…yeah. I get that…I guess." The blonde stammered.

 _What am I doing, I'm an idiot. Just close your mouth Lexa._ The brunette thought to herself.

There was a momentary silence and this time, Lexa looked anywhere but at Clarke.

"Um, anyways want to play with us? You came to shoot right? Maybe Aidan can teach you something." Lexa smirked. Clarke was grateful they were able to recover the conversation.

Clarke agreed and laced up while watching Aidan and Lexa play. It was a new side of Lexa that Clarke hadn't seen but the other veterans had mentioned. It was cute, and did not do anything to help diminish her rapidly growing crush.

* * *

A few days passed with little commotion. Clarke had not been able to shake the odd feeling she was getting from Lexa, and the situation had not improved much. While the brunette was cordial, there was a recognizable distance between them; the extra element was gone from conversation. With Clarke's natural ability to overthink, she chalked it up to Lexa getting freaked out about her bi-sexuality but given that no one has spoken about it, she was sure Lexa hadn't told anyone.

With their first pre-season game coming up, both Clarke and Lexa refocused themselves on the team and on their own playing. The rest of the team was not far behind, in fact Octavia had even stopped talking about Lincoln and spoke mainly of how she could improve in the post. It was a nice feeling, knowing that the season was close. Team unity was at a high, and the team decided to use an evening for team dinner without the coaches present.

Clarke, Octavia and Raven walked into the restaurant and were immediately drawn towards the large table of their talking teammates. They took a seat and awaited the few missing teammates, which included Lexa. The conversation naturally drifted towards the new found tension on the men's team after the Octavia and Bellamy blow up.

"Linc says Bellamy still wont talk to him!" Anya stated openly.

Niylah laughed, "maybe because Octavia still hasn't spoken to Bellamy. It's a cold war."

Octavia rolled her eyes; she had tried in the past few days to remain removed from the situation. She hadn't even spoken to Lincoln much despite how badly she wanted to. "I'm not property of anyone, and my brother treating me as such is grounds enough to establish a stalemate."

"But O, this is like the longest you've gone without speaking to him right?" Clarke recalled.

Octavia nodded and took a sip of her drink.

"Lincoln is still adamant though Octavia, you've got him enticed" Anya laughed, the captains demeanor was completely different than the night before, which Clarke couldn't tell if it was a front.

"He holds on to hope long though, remember last year when he had that crush on Lexa…poor guy." Emori laughed hard.

Lexa's name peaked in Clarke's ears, and captured her full attention.

"Awww, Lexa was not having any of that bald-headed charm?" Raven asked.

"Oh she still thinks he's charming, he comes over to our house to hang out." Anya said. The more she spoke the more Clarke gathered that the three were close.

Octavia made a disgusted face. "Oh no, am I getting Lexa's sloppy seconds?"

Emori laughed loudly "Yeah, Lincoln is gorgeous but I don't think it's enough to make Lexa straight." The rest of the girls chuckled, except Anya who studied Clarke intensely.

Clarke's eye grew wide and inquired before she could stop herself "Lexa is gay?"

The veterans looked at her like she had asked if the earth was flat. "Clarke, seriously? Where have you been?"

Octavia interjected "woah, guys it's not cool to out someone, especially when she's not even here." Octavia defended.

"-Pretty sure Lexa isn't in the closet…. I don't think she ever really has been" Echo stated, her eyes glanced up to the door of the restaurant as Lexa walked in with Harper and Caris in tow.

"Right lex? You're not in the closet right?" Emori called when Lexa approached within earshot. Lexa looked visibly taken back but quickly recovered.

"No, I'm not but why is this the subject of discussion." Lexa said taking a seat next to Anya.

"We were just talking about how Lincoln's smile couldn't sway you." Anya commented, now looking between Clarke and Lexa who evaded both of each other's gazes.

" Ahh. Yes, he did try though." Lexa commented.

"Clarke and Octavia didn't know you were gay" Raven blurted. Receiving shocked looks from her friends. First for admitting that they were inquiring and second, because they weren't aware she knew.

"How did you know?" Clarke asked.

"I have great gay-dar." she smirked knowingly.

Clarke ignored her friend's tease, and turned back to Lexa. " Sorry if this is uncomfortable." Clarke kne if the team had been talking this openly about her sexuality she would probably freak out.

Lexa shrugged. "No it's not. I don't have problems with it."

Clarke took her visible nonchalance as an okay to ask more questions. "When did you come out to the team?"

"They were right, I was never in. I didn't ever feel like I needed to. When I got here, everyone treated sexual orientation like it was no more important than hair colour." Lexa laughed, but her eyes pierced through Clarke, trying to convey a message that only Clarke would get. _You can tell them._

"Well I'd sooner discriminate against a blonde than a lesbian." Emori joked, getting laughs from the group.

Clarke smiled but remained silent, taking in the full weight of the conversation. _Lexa is gay? I mean I should have guessed. Should I be hurt she never told me? I freaked out about bearing my soul and she let me feel stupid when she wasn't even in the closet. Does this mean I can tell the team and it'll be different?_

Clarke's thoughts swirled all evening, unsure of if this new information changed anything. Did it make it easier or more difficult… both for different reasons?

* * *

The evening continued quite normally after that and after dinner the girls went their separate ways. As soon as Clarke, Raven and Octavia left the restaurant and was away from other teammates ears, they broke into conversation.

"Holy shit! I can't believe that just happened. Raven how did you not tell us about Lexa?" Octavia busted.

"I really don't get why you guys are so shocked. Like have you SEEN Lexa? Have you spoken to her? Have you seen her around the guys? C'mon…" Raven replied. "But hey, now that you know, you can get on in there, Clarkey."

Clarke shook her head "stop saying that."

Raven just laughed in reply and they continued walking, Raven and Octavia leading the conversation for a few minutes while Clarke built up courage. She had been thinking about this for a while and had finally come to terms with it, especially since Raven seemed to know anyways. Before she could back down she blurted "Raven, I'm bisexual."

Raven raised an eyebrow at Clarke's interruption.

Clarke exhaled, hands still shaking and feeling sick to her stomach with nerves. She waited for Raven to say something.

"Yeah no shit Clarke. Was I supposed to be shocked?" She asked seriously.

Octavia smiled, not engaging in conversation but silently happy that Clarke was able to come out after what she had faced last year. She knew it was a big step.

"I- I just haven't told anyone because of what happened to me last year when I told my team… obviously Octavia knows…. Oh and Lexa knows."

"You told Lexa! And you didn't tell me that you told Lexa!" Octavia shouted.

Clarke shrugged her shoulders "I guess it's a long story…"

"We have a long walk."

* * *

With another extremely good practice, the team was feeling really good. Clarke's perimeter shot had improved, Octavia was controlling her temper better and Raven was handling the ball so well it was guaranteed she'd be getting good play time in their preseason games.

It was nearing the end of practice, a majority of the hard running drills were out of the way and Coach Indra was taking them through 5 on 5 defensive rotation games. With the last few rotations of practice, the girls were still pushing hard, going through their rotations while the offense tried to score. Luna inbounded the ball to Raven who jogged up the floor as Lexa moved to pick up her defense at half court. The thing with being guarded by Lexa was that anything you did, you had to do it as fast as possible otherwise she'd pick off the ball and make you look rather stupid. Raven had gathered that quickly, no longer wishing to have the ball stolen off her and have her team run sprints for turning over the ball. So as Lexa jumped into defensive stance and pressured Raven, Raven quickly crossed the ball over and passed to Clarke on the high post, and spaced out accordingly.

Clarke went for the head on drive through Niylah towards the basket, but Luna collapsed the defense in and doubled Clarke in the key. To help her out, Raven dropped to the corner and called for the ball. Clarke dished it out to Raven on the three. As soon as the ball touched her hands, Lexa was already pressed up on defense. Raven jab stepped right towards the baseline, faking Lexa out but as she changed directions, pushing off of her right leg; she heard a pop. The sound was followed by immediate pain as she collapsed to the ground.

Lexa was the first to her side and Raven grabbed at her thigh and screamed. The pain shot through her knee with excruciating intensity. The team circled her all wearing matching expressions of worry. Clarke kneed at her side and looked at her knee.

"Raven, your knee is already swelling up. We won't move you but we're going to have to call ambulance." Clarke instructed with a calm voice. Coach Indra instructed everyone else to clear the scene, then proceeded to call the ambulance.

Despite her pain, Raven was able to maintain focus. She gritted her teeth and let a tear fall but wouldn't allow herself to do much else. Before she knew it, the paramedics were in the gym and coach Titus had ended practice early.

"I'm going with her!" Octavia yelled at the paramedic who easily stood down. Raven couldn't help but to laugh through her pain. Octavia looked crazy, hair a mess, still sweating her in practice uniform and crawling into the back of the ambulance with her.

Clarke stood outside the gym watching the ambulance take off and exhaled deeply, digesting everything that just happened. While she was only in second year, Clarke knew that Raven's knee would be no easy fix.

"I can drive you to the hospital if you'd like." Clarke didn't notice Lexa standing behind her.

"That'd be great, thanks." Clarke nodded.

The first few minutes were filled with a worried silence before Lexa turned on her phone and played music through the AUX cord and broke the silence. "What do you think it is, Dr. Griffin."

"I mean, I don't really know. I'm not a doctor" Clarke deadpanned.

Lexa was momentarily caught off guard by her seriousness. "I'm sure you have an idea."

Clarke sighed. "It didn't look out of place, but swelled immediately. Best guess, ACL."

Lexa didn't reply, just nodded with a tight-lipped acknowledgment.

They reached the hospital and were instructed to stay in the waiting room, not getting to see Raven.

"You can go, I'll wait for them." Clarke told Lexa.

"I'll wait, its no problem. Besides, are you guys going to walk home?" Lexa laughed, taking a seat next to an elderly woman. Clarke rolled her eyes and sat next to her. They remained quite for the better part of thirty minutes until they were alone in the waiting room. Clarke appreciated that Lexa allowed her space to worry, but she also wouldn't mind some distraction.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Clarke asked. Lexa immediately looked concerned and nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me you were gay?" she followed up.

"Why should I have to? I'm not in the closet Clarke, and I don't believe anyone should have to 'come out'. It's not your responsibility to introduce people to your identity. They will deal with who you are or they don't, you shouldn't have to hold their hand through it."

Lexa had a way with words that made her seem much older than she was; it was something Clarke greatly admired. Clarke had to make a choice not to get caught up in the brunette's well-crafted words, and finish making her point. "I get what you're saying but you saw how nervous I was about tell you about me."

Lexa laughed, earning a slight smile from Clarke.

"It's not funny, Lexa!"

Lexa threw her arms up in mock surrender. "That whole situation was not about me and I didn't want to make it about me. It was your moment."

Clarke couldn't force her smile away. "You're the worst."

"I'm the best." Lexa grinned.

 _That smile is going to kill me one day._ Clarke thought.

Clarkes momentary swooning was stopped when the automatic double doors opened and Octavia came out, wheeling Raven out in a wheel chair. Raven looked rather out of it, her knee in a full leg immobilizer and she held crutches in her arm. Both Lexa and Clarke stood and walked over immediately.

"Hey bud, how are you doing!" she said to Raven.

"I feel like hell and I just want to go home…. Oh hey Capt!" Raven groggily replied and suddenly realizing Lexa's presence.

Lexa smiled at Raven but turned to Octavia, instantly becoming serious. "What did they say?"

"Doctors were pretty shit. They think it's her ACL and may need surgery… but they're not sure because there's too much swelling so she's going home and told to come back in a few days." Octavia replied irritably.

"Did they give her any pain killers in the meantime? Or anti-inflammatory?" Clarke asked.

"No more than is in her system right now. She'll be in a world of hurt in the morning." Octavia replied.

"They could be wrong. Maybe I can get a second opinion." Raven stated.

Octavia turned to Clarke and smiled "I know a really good Ortho-surgeon."

 _Looks like I'm going home._ Clarke thought with mixed feelings.


	9. Chapter 9: Complications

**Chapter 8: Complications**

* * *

Clarke leaned against the door of Lexa's black jeep, waiting for Octavia to help Raven down to the lobby. "Lexa, you really don't have to drive us all the way to Arkadia. You're missing class and work and it's like a two hour drive."

Lexa adjusted her dark ray bans on her face and smiled "I'm aware, but it's also a 3.5 hour bus ride and while my jeep isn't the most comfortable, it'll be better for Raven to stretch out her leg on Octavia. Thanks for the way out though."

It took 15 minutes of adjusting and grunting on Raven's behalf to get her in the back of the jeep with her back against the door and legs up on Octavia lap. Despite her pain, Raven remained in good spirits, singing along to Lexa's music and laughing with Octavia. Even Lexa joined in and it allowed for Clarke to relax her thoughts from the developing feelings she had for Lexa and her nerves over going to Arkadia and seeing her mom.

She had called her mother late in the night to see if she would have time to see Raven. It wasn't a necessary call because Clarke knew that even if she was jammed with surgeries, she would push them all if Clarke needed.

Clarke dissolved her thoughts when Lexa began exiting the highway. "We still have like 40 km to go, why are you exiting?"

"Coffee." Lexa simply replied, She turned the corner and a Starbucks came into view; Lexa visibly sat up straighter. Clarke went into the café with Lexa, knowing that moving either Raven or Octavia would be another game of painful Tetris no one was wanting to recreate.

"What do you want?" Lexa asked, not bothering to look at the menu.

"Um it's okay. I got it. You drive, I buy." Clarke smiled.

Lexa waved her off. "Nice try, I get a discount with my partner card so It's on me. What do you want?"

"Um whatever you gave me last time." Clarke caved.

Lexa laughed and shook her head. "You're so easy… your order I mean. "

"I guess for you I am." Clarke tested. She instantly became relieved when Lexa didn't clam up and instead, fired back without missing a beat.

"Trust me Clarke, your drink order is the only thing easy about you." Lexa finished, looking Clarke over as if she was she was having an inner dialogue and only that sentence had escaped her lips.

Despite Clarke's growing nerves she didn't want to break the tone, she placed Octavia and Ravens order and as Lexa paid, they moved to the drink bar.

Clarke leaned against the counter. "You're pretty smooth, huh?"

Lexa smirked, taking it as a challenge "Oh you haven't seen anything." the brunette waited to catch the barista's attention and asked for her sharpie on her shirt. Taking Clarke's newly made drink in her hands and scribbling.

She returned it to Clarke and awaited her reaction. The bottom of the cup had black marks erasing the words that formerly cautioned, " Careful, the beverage you're about to enjoy is extremely hot" but now with Lexa's modification's it read _**Careful, you're extremely hot.**_

Clarke couldn't help but to have the red in her cheeks stand forward, and shot a faux irritated look to Lexa. "Is that how you pick up girls at work?"

"I don't, did it work? It was my first time." Lexa replied., running her hand through her dark hair nonchalantly.

Clarke finished sliding the drinks into the tray and turned to leave "Maybe…but no promises on that."

This change in Lexa, the play flirting and general interest in being her friend was still new to Clarke. It was a complete 180 from what the girl used to be like at the start of training camp, but due to the constant butterflies, Clarke was not complaining.

* * *

Clarke walked first through the doors leading to the ortho clinic in Arkadia General Hospital. A rush of nostalgia washed through her, the walls of her second home. The wall handles she used to hang off. The waiting room with the wooden blocks that occupied most of her time while she was waiting for her parents to be finished work. Down the stairs, one left and two rights was the daycare she escaped from every day. Clarke may have spent more time in here than ever at her house.

"Oh no, here comes trouble!" an elderly lady called form behind the nurses station. Clarke lit up with excitement and ran over to greet the woman.

"Oh! Heidi! You don't know how much I miss you." Clarke hugged her tight.

Octavia, Raven and Lexa followed in behind her. Clarke pulled away for introductions. "Guys, this is Heidi, she is basically like my mom."

"I kept Clarkey here out of trouble when she was just a kid," she beamed like a proud grandmother seeing how much her grandchild had grown.

As if on cue, a brunette doctor turned the corner and immediately smiled, placing down her charts. Octavia was now the first to react, screeching and running over "Abby!"

Raven and Lexa exchanged a look, silently bonding in how lost they both were.

"Octavia, I had a feeling you'd be here and I'm so glad. How have you been? Hopefully not spending all you time looking after Clarke?" Abby said smiling.

"Oh, I've been replaced, that is now Lexa's job to keep Clarke occupied." she laughed immediately getting a glare from Clarke.

Abby followed Octavia's gaze to Clarke, Raven and Lexa. "Hello, I'm guessing you are Lexa. I remember watching you play against Arkadia last season. You're a very proficient shooter."

"Thank you Dr. Griffin, it's very nice to meet you." Lexa turned on her most charming parental smile. Clarke was impressed.

"and I'm guessing you, are Raven." Abby said with a sympathetic smile, looking at Ravens immobilizer brace and crutches.

"I guess it was the good looks that gave it away right?" Raven laughed. "Anyways, Dr. Griffin, thank you so much for seeing me on such sort notice." She exclaimed.

"Anything for a friend of Clarke's, lets go take a look at that knee. Take a seat in the last room on the right." she pointed down the hospital hallway.

There was a moment of awkwardness as Abby stepped towards Clarke and pulled her into a hug. Lexa noticed the underlying tension immediately.

"You look good Clarke, I've missed you." Abby commented formally.

Clarke took a moment to answer, weighing her words. "It's nice to see you too mom."

They stood looking at each other, daring one another to say something more but neither had the words. Lexa took the queue.

"Well, Dr. Griffin I suppose you'll be a little while with Raven. Is there a cafeteria that Clarke and I may grab some food? I'm sure Octavia will stay with Raven." Lexa interrupted.

"Yes of course, I'm sure Clarke remembers the way." Abby replied frankly before turning on her heel and walking in the same direction that Octavia and Raven had.

* * *

Lexa studied Clarke, the blonde seemed like her mind was a thousand miles away. Worry and stress etched into her facial expressions as she gnawed on a poorly made sandwich.

"What has you so quiet." Lexa inquired.

Her voice pulled Clarke from her thoughts "Am I a particularly loud person?"

Lexa smirked. "You certainly aren't the strong silent type."

Clarke rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Just thinking about my mom, and Raven."

"What about them"

Clarke looked at Lexa, studying her determining how much she wanted to reveal, and how much Lexa really even wanted to know. "Um… my mom and I don't have the greatest relationship lately. It's weighing on me just being here."

Lexa furrowed her brows, "I noticed some tension. If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

Clarke took a deep breath. "I was always closer with my dad anyways, so there was always some distance there. It got better when I fulfilled her dream of following her footsteps, pre-med at Arkadia. My parents are proud alumni and donated a lot of money to the school. She was less than enthused when I 'chose to ruin that legacy', or so she put it. She doesn't like me being at Polis."

Lexa gave her a sympathetic yet genuine pout. "Was it because you came out, or more so because you left Arkadia."

Clarke shrugged, "I don't know, we always fight and never really get to that topic."

Lexa nodded slowly. "How does your dad feel about it?"

"He's dead. He passed when I was 15." Clarke felt as though she should say more, take the weight off the words in some way, but could never bring herself to find more words than that simple fact.

Lexa's heart sunk in her chest. She felt terrible for making Clarke talk about it, but at the same time, was glad she opened up to her about it. It was a feeling of being in some inner trusted circle that almost made her want to smile despite the weight of the topic.

"I'm very sorry to hear that Clarke." Lexa replied frankly. Unsure of how to console her, or if she even needed consoling.

Clarke shrugged off the topic, feigning nonchalance. "Are you as warm and friendly as I am with my mom, with your parents?"

Lexa laughed, but let it fade "Um, no not at all actually. I don't know my birth parents. I grew up in group homes mostly."

Clarke desperately tried to hide her surprise. After the amount of times people had assumed the presence of her father and felt uncomfortable by it, she should have known no to do that to Lexa. "I'm an idiot, I'm sorry I made assumptions."

Lexa waved it off, "honestly, don't worry about it. I think people always assume the worst of the situation. It wasn't anything like Annie. I had great friends, great staff who were like my parents, and had one hell of a support system in Titus."

Clarkes eye went wide "wait, like Coach Titus?"

Lexa nodded. "Don't tell anyone, but yeah. He was my peewee coach; he always found ways to wave my league fees, drive me to practices and games. When he got a job coaching at Polis, he let me come scrimmage with the team when I was just in high school. When it came time, he got me a scholarship."

Clarke nodded in understanding. "Wow, I would have never guessed. Don't sell yourself short Lexa, you got yourself a scholarship."

"Well, thanks. But that is also why he lets me work. The scholarship doesn't cover much but the basics, you know? I have to still pay for food, utilities…Stuff like that."

" Wow Lexa, I learn more about you everyday." Clarke smiled softly.

"and would you want to stick around for tomorrow?" Lexa replied. Her words hanging in the air with a strange tension building. Her green eyes scanned Clarke's blue ones searching for an answer before Clarke could speak.

"I'd stick around all week if you'd have me." Clarke deadpanned.

Lexa's cheeks grew hot, and throat went dry. She knew she was getting back into dangerous territory and needed to control herself. "We should ugh, we should go check back."

Clarke couldn't refrain from letting her disappointment show. "Yeah, lets check back."

* * *

"Where are they?" Raven complained. Her consult finishing 10 minutes ago and she did not have a mobility to set out on a mission to find Clarke and Lexa.

"Probably drooling on each other." Octavia joked, slumping back into the waiting room chair.

"Hey, what do you think is going to happen there?" Raven inquired.

"I don't know, Clarkes pretty guarded since everything happened. I can't see her doing anything risky. She'll continue to drool and choose to do nothing about it." Octavia stated expertly.

Raven sighed. "Maybe she needs to get distracted by someone else. Because I don't think Lexa would go for it."

"Really? Lexa has clearly softened up to her. I think she likes her to be honest." Octavia replied.

"She's also Lexa Woods. She won't shit where she eats."

Octavia raised her eyebrow. "What the fuck does that mean?"

Raven rolled her eyes at Octavia's ignorance. "Like she plays basketball with Clarke. Basketball is her life. So she won't mix the two…. Shit where she eats? Get it?"

"That's gross." Octavia wrinkled her nose.

* * *

The ride home was less energetic than the trip there. They spent most of the time discussing Raven's knee, which as Abby confirmed, was in rough shape and would require further MRI's once the swelling subsided. Until then, Raven would be on a healthy supply of medications for swelling and pain.

"Hey thanks for today." Clarke unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed the handle of the jeep.

Lexa smiled and nodded. "No problem. Have a good night guys."

"Wait, no way. We owe you big time. Come on up, Pizza is on us." Octavia exclaimed.

"And don't even think about saying no, Capt." Raven called. Clarke smiled and gestured for Lexa to get out of the jeep, to which she complied.

As Octavia and Raven argued over pizza toppings and what to watch on Netflix, Lexa stood in the kitchenette seeming uncomfortable with her surroundings.

"You don't have to stand there. Come." Clarke jutted her thumb towards the hallway to her room.

Lexa remained where she should, seemingly contemplating the invite. So Clarke enticed "You can come see my record collection…"

"Deal." Lexa remarked, following her down the hallway.

 _Oh my god, Lexa is coming into my room. Holy shit is it clean? Please god; tell me I don't have underwear lying out._ Clarke frantically thought as she gripped her door handle and walked in. Clarke was never an overly clean person, especially when it came to her bedroom, but thanks to her recent laundry day, her wardrobe was contained in her closet and drawers and not on the floor strewn about.

"Nice room." Lexa commented. Looking uncomfortable still.

Clarke smirked, enjoying that she had a bit of the upper hand on Lexa for once. She was in her own territory. "Thanks, you can sit… you have a problem with relaxing don't you?"

"Sorry…" Lexa stated, taking a seat.

Clarke laughed and made her way to her turntable. A Vance Joy record was already on the table, so she dropped the needle and began spinning. Clarke grabbed the milk crate of records and made her way to Lexa, who sat on the bed.

For the first time, Lexa smiled as she rifled through Clarke's abundance of indie and classic rock albums. She silently noted the messy handwriting in the corner of older albums that read " _Jake_ ". She noted Clarke's eyes drawn to the handwriting and the way her thumb graced over the letters and decided it had likely belonged to someone important to her.

"You've got a good taste in music, Clarke."

"Really? I thought you liked hip hop and stuff." Clarke replied.

Lexa rolled her eyes, and adjusted herself on the bed. "Based on that night on the bar? I like other music too. It's just hard to dance to rock."

"Well, I really like it when you dance." Clarke smirked.

"You make me sound like a stripper, Clarke."

Clarke laughed hard. "That's not what I meant!"

Clarke adjusted herself on the bed, mimicking the way Lexa propped herself on one side and faced the brunette; leaving a foot of distance between them.

 _Just do it, Clarke._ "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." Lexa remarked surprisingly nonchalant and not glancing up from the U2 record she was holding.

"What's your type? I mean, no offence but you don't really talk about relationships or girls, you don't even joke about it. You're hard to read."

"Why do you want to read me?" Lexa countered with a raised eyebrow. Clarke loved it when she made that face, it was hot and intimidating at the same time.

Clarke thought of 10 ways to respond safely, but the only thing that escaped her mouth was the one response that should have stayed in. "Maybe I want to know where I stand with you?"

If Lexa was taken aback, she didn't show it. Instead it looked like she was weighing her next steps against the world. "and where would you like to stand, Clarke?"

Clarke knew what she was doing, it wasn't impulsive, and it wasn't rushed or scared. Her motions were deliberate and confident. As she leaned forward her actions spoke for her. She closed the gap between her and Lexa, leaving a mere inch between their lips for what seemed like seconds, but was actually less than a fraction of one. When Lexa didn't immediately retreat, Clarke captured her lips in her own.

Immediately, Clarke was overwhelmed with thoughts and sensations that she couldn't focus on. There was no world melting away, or serene quiet. Their kiss was loud, explosive and colourful. Clarke's heart beat out of her chest wildly, as she felt Lexa's lips finally move against her own.

It took a few seconds for Lexa to return the kiss, but only one to come to her senses and pull away. The sudden absence made Clarke open her eyes and send her crashing back down to earth. They looked at each other in complete shock, and timid horror.

"I-…. We shouldn't… that wasn't suppose to happen Clarke….. FUC.K" Lexa panicked, scrambling to her feet. Her hand jutted up and touched her lips where she could feel Clarke lingering on her as she made sense of the situation.

Lexa's reaction kicked Clarke into overdrive. "I'm sorry! I don't know what the fuck I was thinking. Holy shit, I'm an idiot."

"Its fine… its fine. It's my fault I shouldn't have led you on…. I ugh, I need to go." She said, eyes frantically looking for her coat. She stood at the door for a moment as if there was something left to be said, but instead she dropped her head and opened the door to leave.

As soon as she was out of the room, Clarke's mind went a mile a minute, as she crashed into her bed. _What the fuck is wrong with me! What was I thinking?!_

The rapping on her door jarred her, but instead of Lexa poking her head back in, it was Octavia. "What happened? Why'd Lexa leave like that?"

Raven crutched through the door, staring at Clarke's body strewn on her bed. "Oh no…"

Clarke threw a pillow over her face and murmured. "I kissed Lexa."

Raven and Octavia matched faces of pure shock. " YOU DID WHAT?"

* * *

Over the two days, Clarke fell into hermit status. She went to a few classes as to not fall behind but not much else. She missed practices stating to the coaches she was ill, despite it not being an acceptable excuse. Now with the first pre-season game coming, Clarke was forced from her cave and her and Octavia sat next to each other on the team bus headed towards Azgeda. Clarke was happy enough this morning while boarding that Lexa was already on the bus; at the back and immersed in her music so that Clarke wouldn't have to make awkward eye contact. Although, just the sight of her made Clarke's stomach flip and her flight response tempted her to run.

"I can see your brain ready to explode. Clarke, calm down. You'll both get over it and she clearly hasn't told anyone because no one is talking about it. Chill." Octavia whispered.

Clarke nodded in response and took out her sketchbook to draw while the rest of the girls watched the movie on the over-head screens or slept. The next 4 hours went by quick, with neither Clarke nor Lexa leaving their seats on stops, and as far as Clarke was concerned, Lexa didn't speak a word to anyone the whole way. When they arrived at the hotel, the girls filed into the lobby as Coach Indra and Titus checked in.

Clarke sheepishly watched as Lexa stood at the front, whispering slightly to Anya who chuckled. Before Clarke could turn away, Lexa caught her staring and their eyes locked. Lexa's expression lacked all emotion and Clarke turned around, not wanting to feel the full weight of the embarrassment any longer. _She's definitely going back to hating me._

"Ladies, listen up. Tomorrow morning we will be headed to the gym at 9 am to shoot around. Be on the bus for 8:40. We play Azgeda at 6pm, so we'll be doing a team lunch at 1pm. Tonight, lights out is at 11:30." Coach Indra instructed.

Coach Titus held the card keys in his hand and eyed them with disappointment. " Alright, we didn't make room assignments, so … same rooms as TonDC."

 _Noo no no no no nooo._ Clarke panicked. She was rooming with Lexa. All the girls broke out into conversation and Octavia remained at her side and sympathetically squeezed her shoulder, but continued to the elevator behind Anya.

Clarke watched as Lexa took a card key from Coach, and proceeded to the elevators. Clarke followed behind, dreading the weekend now more than ever. Thankfully Harper and Caris joined their elevator ride, but when they reached their floor, they parted ways. Lexa stopped in front of a door and unlocked it, walking into the dark room and flicking on a light.

As Clarke entered the room her gaze travelled from the two double beds, to Lexa's stiff challenging stare. Clarke was certain that Lexa was ready to chastise her

She watched as the brunette captain's chest rose and fell rapidly, and her thumbs fidgeted in her hands. She looked as nervous as if she was preparing to bungee jump. "I've decided to…. stop thinking." She spoke methodically.

Before Clarke could contemplate those words, Lexa took two big determined strides towards Clarke at the door. Her arm outstretched, and hand slid around the back of Clarke's neck. For the way she walked and angry look on her face, Clarke was momentarily surprised by the gentleness of the gesture, as Lexa pulled the blonde in and connected their lips with lust, desperation and urgency. The last conscious note Clarke had, was the feeling of her back hitting the wall as Lexa deepened the kiss, and she welcomed it.


	10. Chapter 10: Platonic

**Chapter 10: Platonic**

* * *

Clarke grabbed at Lexa's hips, pulling her in closer. Feeling Lexa's body against her own made her stomach sink further. As if Clarke wasn't light headed enough, Lexa made the first move in opening her mouth slightly and trailing her tongue across Clarkes bottom lip, awaiting permission. Clarke eagerly complied and met Lexa's tongue with her own. Warmth pooled at Clarke's center and she placed two hands at Lexa's shoulders and pushed her back reluctantly.

Lexa breathed heavily, looking at Clarke with lust and confusion.

Clarke ran her hand through her hair and slumped to the ground with her back against the wall and knees tight to her chest. "If we didn't stop, I wouldn't have been able to… and that's not what I want."

Lexa sat back on the bed stared on the ground. "You don't want this? I'm confused Clarke, you kissed me first in your room…"

" No…I want this, but I don't want to sleep with you when we don't know what the fuck is going on here I mean, Lexa... I kiss you and you freak out, then I freak out and we don't talk for two days, then you get me alone in a room and you're all in?" Clarke rambled, her mind going as twice as fast as her mouth.

Lexa hadn't spent much time reasoning with herself; in fact she did the opposite and acted purely based on what she wanted and not what she should be doing. So now, as Clarke demanded an answer, one that she rightfully deserved; the brunette had to analyze it for herself as well. "I… alright, I was shocked. I didn't want that to happen. You kissing me did nothing but make things more complex for me. I've been trying to … push this all aside and listen to Anya."

Clarke interrupted with frustration growing. "So you didn't want to kiss me and that's why you pushed me up against a wall? And what does this have to do with Anya."

Lexa threw her arms up, hating to be interrupted. "If you had let me finish, I'd explain. No, Clarke this isn't desirable, but you are. I want you but I don't want this situation we're in. This isn't something I do, I'm not negligent to the fact that we're teammates and I'm your captain. Anya warned me to stay away because it would interfere with how we're all meshing as a team. She's right, but tonight I stopped thinking and I acted. I understand that I just contributed to the complexity of this situation, however I don't regret it." By the time Lexa finished, she looked small and less intimidating than normal, her green eyes seemed to be glowing with vunerability.

Clarke couldn't decide how she was feeling. Happy, certainly. Lexa had kissed her. Irritated, naturally that Anya was a factor in their…. Relationship? Friendship? She didn't know.

"First, Lexa please stop talking about this, and us like a business deal gone south. And second, I don't know what any of this is, but I'd prefer if you didn't take direction from Anya, especially for something like this." Clarke replied.

Lexa stayed quiet for a second, looking like a grade schooler who had been sent to the principals office as her legs dangled off the large bed and she stared at the ground.

Clarke filled the silence. "What's going to happen? What is this?"

"What do you want to happen, Clarke?"

Clarke thought about the question, and was thankful that Lexa allowed her a minute of silence to do so. If she was being honest, she hadn't thought that far ahead either. Would pursuing this with Lexa be a wise decision? All she had admitted thus far was that she thought Lexa was hot and had a mild crush, would continuing under these understandings be the safest option? Especially since she wasn't ready to come out to everyone?

"Maybe, I understand this 'complexity' in a way. What has happened is as far as I've considered." Clarke tried slowly.

Lexa nodded. "I understand, I obviously hadn't even thought this far ahead either. …Are you interested in me?" Lexa stomach filled with nerves at the question.

"I am, but I don't want things to progress past here, for my own reasons." Clarke spoke timidly. "Are you?" She followed up.

I am, and I agree. I am not looking to date a teammate, Clarke."

 _Ouch, I know I sort of said it first, but that still hurt a bit_. Clarke thought dejectedly.

Instead Clarke said, "So I guess we agree then, and lets keep this between us obviously." Clarke stated getting a nod from Lexa.

The rest of the night felt as thought it went by in a haze. After their conversation, Clarke went to find food with Octavia and Harper, while Lexa left with Anya. Clarke was constantly happy with Harper's presence to hold conversation with Octavia, because her mind was miles away. She thought of the events of the evening, what her and Lexa's agreement truly meant and realized she wasn't exactly sure. When they arrived back at the hotel in time for curfew, it was difficult for her to pretend to be upset with rooming with the brunette captain, and simultaneously not skip back to her room when the girls said goodnight. Clarke opened their door and noticed the lights were off except the bedside table. Lexa acknowledged her and looked up from her book and smiled, instantly making Clarke swoon and smile like an idiot. Lexa's hair was tied in a high messy bun, and she had taken out her contacts, sporting thick rimmed rounded glasses that Clarke had never seen before. _She's Gorgeous._

"Hey, you're back already." Clarke stated and she undid her coat and removed her shoes.

"Yeah, I didn't really sleep on the bus so I'm a little tired." Lexa spoke, the smile still playing at the corners of her lips.

"Oh I'm sorry. I was going to watch Netflix on my laptop, but I'll just plug in my headphones and you can go to sleep."

Lexa shook her head, "What are you going to watch?"

"How I Met Your Mother, have you seen it?" Clarke inquired.

"No, I've heard of it. Maybe I'll watch it sometime." She smiled awkwardly adjusting the glasses on her face. The small motion made Clarke absolutely swoon.

"Want to watch an episode maybe? Before you go to sleep? I'll start back at season 1." The blonde offered and chastised herself for seeming so desperate.

Lexa attempted to conceal a growing smile, as if that was exactly what she was hoping for. "I wouldn't want you to re-watch it, it's alright."

"No seriously, I'm only on season 2 and I love it; I wouldn't mind re-watching it." Clarke confirmed quickly.

"Okay…" Lexa replied, scooting over in her bed and putting her book away, making room for Clarke.

 _Okay, slow steps. Don't make it look like you're rushing or too eager._ Clarke thought as she walked to the washroom to change into pajamas. She grabbed her MacBook and slid under the covers next to Lexa. Clarke was fairly certain she didn't hear a word of the first episode over the hammering of her heart. They sat eerily still; close enough for one arm to be touching each other's but neither bold enough to make a move to sit closer. Throughout the second episode, Clarke couldn't help but to steal glances at Lexa, to admire how the corners of her mouth turned up so high when she was on the verge of laughing, and didn't hesitate to throw her head back and laugh when the time came. Clarke was completely transfixed, and would have been content watching Lexa watch the show for the full episode; but when Lexa caught her staring she snapped back to the screen. Each time she received a quirked eyebrow from the brunette with a cheeky smile to match.

The second episode drew to a close and Lexa shifted in her seat, pausing the show from continuing. "We should sleep, we have a big game tomorrow, Azgeda won't hand us anything." She said, putting on her best captains voice that Clarke was growing to dislike because it typically meant all fun and happiness would be sucked from the conversation.

Clarke nodded and began to pack up her laptop and throwing it on her adjacent bed. As her feet touched the hotel carpet, Lexa placed her hand on hers, stopping her. It was abundantly clear that Lexa had once again, acted before allowing herself to think about what she was going to say; something Clarke was sure didn't occur in regular situations as she was always so well spoken, almost rehearsed.

"Why don't you…sleep here? I don't believe that's crossing our previously established boundaries… I mean, if you want to." Lexa choked out.

Clarke had to stop her inward celebration for rising to her facial expressions. "I mean, yeah… friends share beds all the time… it's like platonic cuddling." Clarke justified.

Lexa laughed and removed her glasses from her face, setting it on the bedside table. "Yeah, platonic cuddling."

Clarke rolled back into the bed and immediately felt awkward and uncomfortable. _Are we moving to fast? What is happening here? I may be in over my head. Lust, lust I can handle, cuddling may be too much. Fuck_.

Clarke panicked until Lexa slid down the bed and flicked off the light, turning her back to Clarke and nuzzling her head into the pillow. Now Clarke really started to panic, _What do I do, does she want me to move closer, do I face the other way, do I stay lying on my back, fuck fucking fuck fuck._

As if she could read the blonde's mind, Lexa spoke "Clarke, calm down." she reached behind her and found Clarke's arm, pulling it towards her forcing Clarke to follow her arm and reach around Lexa's frame and subsequently spoon her. Clarke settled in and did not dare to move the hand Lexa was still gripping, when she settled, Lexa nuzzled her body back into Clarke's.

 _Holy shit, we fit perfectly. Holy shit, I'm spooning Lexa Woods._

In her disbelief, Clarke let a small chuckle escape.

"why are you laughing?" Lexa murmured.

"This morning, I was convinced you were going back to hating me, now I'm spooning you. It's all so wild; in front of the team you're a pit-bull, now you're like a small retriever puppy." Clarke replied with confident amusement.

Lexa chuckled, "If you're surprised, then you should get to know me better."

Clarke ponded this for a moment, how much about Lexa did she really know? Surely she would discover more given recent developments but it was strange, her first time spooning another girl and how much did she really know about the brunette in her arms at that moment?

"I mean, I just never took you for a little spoon."

"Shut up, Clarke."

* * *

A loud wrapping on the door caused Clarke to open her eyes groggily. First, her arm was painfully numb as she wretched it from under Lexa's seemingly lifeless frame. And second she had to take in her surroundings, feeling completely disoriented. Hotel, on the road, in Lexa's bed. Knocking at the door. _Fuck we forgot to set an alarm_ …. Just as the panic ensued, she heard the knocking change to a confirming beep; someone had a key and was coming in. The door swung open and Clarke flung herself form the bed and got to her feet in time for Anya to come into sight. The commotion finally woke Lexa who groggily stared between the two.

"What the fuck Lexa? You're a captain and you're late. We're supposed to be leaving for lunch now. Why aren't you up?" Anya growled.

Lexa rolled onto her back and reached for her glasses. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. We must've forgotten to set an alarm last night. I'll be down in 5." Lexa scrambled.

Clarke stood next to her bed awkwardly in her Polis Basketball t-shirt and short pajama shorts as Anya eyed her suspiciously. Clarke followed her traveling gaze from her, to Lexa, to Clarke's bed. Clarke's perfectly made, un-touched bed. _Fuck._

If looks could kill, her and Lexa would be dead and buried. Instead of saying anything, Anya turned on her heel and left the room with a door slam. Clarke turned to Lexa in horror.

"Let's hurry before she comes back." Lexa said jumping out of bed.

"Lexa, she saw that I didn't sleep in my bed last night…." Clarke said slowly, pointing to the immaculately tided bed. Lexa's expression turned to realization, but soon vanished and she busied herself with getting ready. They spoke very little in their quick few minutes of getting ready, a time Clarke had hopped would be dedicated to debriefing form the previous nights developments.

The team lunch dragged on, Clarke dodging Octavia's inquires as to why she was late, why she was so shaken and why she and Lexa could not stand to make eye contact with Anya. Lexa was certainly better than her at either pushing her thoughts aside, or faking it. Lexa lively engaged in conversation with the team and coaches, joking about how she passed out early, slept like the dead and Clarke was over confident in her ability to wake up early without the use of an alarm.

Truthfully, while Lexa was able to uphold the façade, her thoughts were fixated on what exactly her and Clarke's arrangement meant, where do they go? And was she too forward last night?

* * *

The team headed to Azgeda's gym early, as Coach Titus believed in getting so well acquainted with another schools gym that it feels like home. Most of the girls spent their time slowly stretching and lightly putting shots up. Octavia allowed Clarke her time to be quiet, but quickly picked up on her strange pre-game behaviour. It was not hard to notice that Lexa and Anya were not speaking and Anya seemed more pissed off than ever before. Some would argue that Octavia wasn't the brightest of her friends, but she was good at reading people.

Octavia put her ball back on the rack and walked over to the side of the court where Clarke sat alone, lips pursed and deep in thought, legs outstretched but making no attempt to actually stretch. "It's weird huh?"

Clarke snapped her head up quick to her friend who took a seat next to her. "What is?"

"These uniforms, the colours. We didn't play at Arkadia long, but it was still surreal putting on a Polis uniform earlier. It's also strange not having Coach Kane taking turns ripping into people for no reason, or making us do that stupid warm up he found online." Octavia laughed, earning a nostalgic smile for Clarke.

"Yeah, I don't miss that last part." The blonde replied.

Octavia went out of her way to capture Clarke's gaze, stressing her seriousness. "Hey, are you alright? You've been acting really strange today. Are you still torn up about the Lexa situation?"

Clarke hated lying, but she especially hated lying to Octavia. "It's just such a complicated situation… I don't know where we stand."

"Did you guys talk at all last night?"

Clarke did not have to reply, her facial expression gave away more than she would have liked to admit.

Octavia nodded slowly. "Something more happened? Is that why Anya is stomping around like a psychopath? Did Lexa tell her?"

Clarke was relieved that Octavia was able to read the room and not excitedly overreact, or push for intense details before she was ready. "Something more happened. Anya doesn't know exactly what I don't think… but she saw that I didn't sleep in my bed last night when she came in to wake us up."

Octavia's eyes went wide and Clarke immediately wished she had given more context. "You slept with Lexa?!"

"No no. We didn't have sex; we just slept in the same bed. Platonically cuddled, after making out a little." Clarke clarified.

Octavia chuckled and Clarke shoved her. "There's no such thing as platonically cuddling, c'mon Clarke. Now do you mind I ask how you feel about her? Or if you talked about last night at all?"

Even though Clarke wasn't initially willing to talk to anyone, she was relieved to have Octavia's ear. "We did kind of talk about it. It was weird, I don't think last night was the best time to talk about it, but we said we were happy with not pushing it further, and I am…I wasn't lying about that. I think I like her more than I'm admitting even to myself… I don't know, Octavia it hasn't even been 24 hours."

"So like a casual thing? I, personally can't handle that. I'd get attached, but if it is where you're both comfortable with right now, especially because of team stuff and you not being out… then just play it by ear and keep the communication open if things change and you're ready to admit it." Octavia shrugged like it was an obvious conclusion to draw.

Clarke smiled brightly, "O, you're a genius and I love you. Thank you. Also- please.."

Octavia cut in. "Don't tell anyone… I know Clarke. But I do have to ask… How hot was the make out session? Was she into it?" Octavia wiggled her eyebrows.

Clarke let her inner sleepover high school girl escape. "… it was so hot, and yeah she was into it, she _started_ it."

Octavia bowed her head and raised a hand for a high five. "My girl."

* * *

"Ladies, here we go. Our first game and it won't be an easy one. Starters, remember this is preseason, you still have to work to keep your spot. The starting 5 will be… Anya, Lexa, Luna, Clarke and Emori." Coach Titus announced in the huddle. Clarke was stunned to hear her name but quickly took a seat as Titus took a knee in front of them to draw the first plays of the game. Clarke looked to a momentarily dejected Octavia turn determined and focus. She looked to the rest of the starters, pumped and ready; and to Lexa who was already looking at her, and gave her a soft encouraging smile that made Clarke's pace quicken.

Luna won the jump ball and the game moved quick. Anya brought the ball up and passed to Emori who entered it to Luna in the low post with a little too much force and Luna's nerves prevented her from catching the ball, turning it over for Azgeda. Azgeda quickly pushed the ball and their shooting guard pulled up the ball unexpectedly over Lexa's head for 3 points to be the first on the board. As Lexa inbounded the ball, Anya scowled at her hard and took possession of the ball.

This was the tone for the next quarter. Anya proceeded to look Lexa off, even when she was wide open on the three-point line. Their lack of togetherness caused a ripple effect throughout the court and everyone failed to run through well-known plays to it's entirety, leading to frequent offensive breakdowns. Coach Titus allowed for Indra to do a majority of the yelling from the courtside, but refused to call a time-out. At the end of the 1st quarter, Azgeda lead by 15.

The starting five returned to the bench with their heads down. "Are you guys tired?" Indra asked rhetorically. "Because you should, I'm even tired of watching this bullshit excuse for basketball. Lexa, Anya get it together, I don't know what has gotten into you two, but you're not leading right now. Clarke, if you're open on the elbow, fucking call for the ball and shoot. Stop trying to get it down low on every possession because Luna, can't manage to finish around the rim." She chastised angrily. While Clarke usually didn't agree with yelling as a coaching tactic, she knew Coach Indra was right. They were all playing like shit.

Coach Titus stepped forward. "Luna up, Octavia sub in for her. Anya, Lexa up. If you can't lead on the court, I don't need you there. Tell me when you're ready to actually play. Harper, Caris, sub in." the two rookies looked wide-eyed like a rookie paramedic to a siren as they scrambled to the score table and removed their warm ups. Time out was over and the second quarter began. Unfortunately, the addition of the two rookies meant the ball continuously got picked off at half and Azgeda scored quick layups.

Lexa threw her towel down and stood, and calmly walked towards the score table.

"Where do you think you're going Woods? Sit down." Titus called.

"I'm subbing in Coach. Unless you'd like this to continue." She challenged, a move she didn't pull often.

He thought for a moment. "Anya, let's go. Sub in with Lexa." Titus allowed, and the two girls reentered the game.

Out of determination alone, the team was able to pull within 5 points of Azgeda by half. Lexa and Anya still failed to communicate, but the ball was passed to Lexa significantly more and she shot well from the three. It was the one spot on the floor that she felt like she could see everything clearly, and took full advantage. Octavia chipped in with her aggression down low in the post, earning high praise from Coach Indra on the sideline. Clarke scored once on a drive from the high key, and still failed to shoot the open shots from the elbow as instructed.

The rest of the game went similarly. Clarke was taken off the floor in the 3rd for surrendering her high post shot and Niylah stayed in for the rest of the game. With the lack of consistent leadership, the rest of the girls floundered. The final buzzer rang through and Lexa looked up to the scoreboard. 76-74 for Azgeda. She couldn't stop her temper from flaring up as she was forced to shake hands with the opposing team.

As they walked back to the bench, she exploded throwing her warm up at Anya's back. "This is YOUR fault! You think you can lead this team as a fourth year but you're out here acting like a child. Grow up before our next game." She shouted causing the team to whip around as Anya lunged back at in her direction throwing her warm up at Lexa's face.

"ME? You're the one acting like a kid with her first crush. Can't you see what you've done to this team? We should have won today!" She yelled, stepping into Lexa's face.

Clarke was the first to Lexa, pulling her by her arms backwards and stepping in front of her. The anger etched into Lexa's face was a stark contrast to the innocent beauty she saw last night and it made her uncomfortable, like she was witnessing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in person. "Hey, settle down. Don't do this here." She said in low tones.

Lexa took a minute to relax, her muscles un-tensing and jaw settling. She then turned and took off.

* * *

The post-game locker room talk was non-existent. Instead, Coach Indra instructed them to shower, change and get on the bus to go home as the coaches talked to Lexa and Anya alone. As they loaded into the bus awaiting their coaches and captains, there were a few moments of silent reflection.

"Is anyone going to talk about what the fuck was going on?" Niylah commented.

Luna shrugged "I don't know, clearly there's more to it than we know. I haven't seen them fight…. Ever?"

"Yeah, what was she talking about, Lexa having a childish crush?" Harper asked.

Clarke slumped lower into her seat, staring at Octavia across the bus walkway wide-eyed.

Octavia took the queue. "I don't think that's going to matter, they've all been talking for almost an hour and I'm sure that means practice Monday is going to kill us."

The girls then discussed how much shit they were going to be in come Monday, reminiscing about the trouble they received in TonDC. When the coaches and captains returned to the bus, they all wore matching faces of anger, showing clearly to everyone that not much was resolved.

Lexa took a seat in the back, while Anya moved her pillow and bags to the front of the bus and they took off back to Polis. Clarke spent the next hour reflecting about her own game, angry with herself for not showcasing her full potential and vowed to spend more time in the gym, because as it was she would not be getting at starting block back.

Clarke pulled out her phone and scribed a quick text, sitting up in her seat to watch Lexa receive it.

 **[Clarke]:**

 **So, we have 3 hours left to Polis. I was going to try and sleep but after last night's arrangement; I don't think this bus can really measure up.**

Lexa opened her phone with a pout that turned slowly into a one sided grin and as she looked up to meet Clarke's eyes and typed away.

 **[Lexa]:**  
 **You're right. Comfort is key, especially last night. However, the wake up call was not favorable.**

 **[Clarke]:**

 **First, my name is Clarke, not comfort ;). And second, how would you have preferred to be woken up?**

 **[Lexa]:**

 **With 100% less Anya, that's for sure.**

 **[Clarke]:**

 **Well, maybe we can arrange for that soon? Under the agreements of our newly established contract of course? Platonically.**

 **[Lexa]:**

 **As much as I enjoyed myself last night Clarke, I think we just saw the results of our calculated risk. Can we just cool it for a bit?**

 **[Clarke]:**

 **Yeah. Sure, sorry.**

Lexa looked up at Clarke sympathetically, but chose to close her phone and slump back into her chair. Causing Clarke to follow suit.

 _Well that was fun while it lasted._


	11. Chapter 11: A Happy Middle

**A/N:**

 _Guys… I'm so fucking sorry. Midterms came and really laid into me. If it makes you feel any better, I couldn't wait to get back to writing this story. For now, this is a bit of a middle step to bigger plot developments coming. For your wait, I will be updating another chapter sooner rather than later._

 _Thanks for your on-going patience!_

 **Chapter 11: A Happy Middle.**

* * *

"Rae, seriously you have to get up and shower." Octavia called for the third time, leaning against the girl's bedroom door. Clarke sat in the hallway across from Octavia and threw her hands up in the air, defeated. When they had gotten home from the road, Raven had taken a turn for the worst and spent the night sulking by herself. The girls thought she'd be fine but now realized that Raven was good at hiding her emotions when she needed to, and now she finally let her mask slip.

"We can smell you from here, let's go. We have to do the follow up MRI and we can get it done here in Polis. Your appointment is in 40 minutes. Please, let's not miss this one." Octavia whined.

"We'll buy you all the beer you want." Clarke bargained.

They waited and heard the crutches hit the ground on the other side of the door and the handle turn. Raven emerged in old worn grey track pants and a massive high school volleyball sweatshirt. "I- I can't really get into the shower because the tub is too high and you guys weren't here." Raven almost whispered.

Clarke and Octavia scrambled to their feet. "We'll help you."

Raven simply nodded and headed towards the bathroom. Clarke nodded after her, silently motioning that Octavia should take the lead on that one and the girl obliged. Clarke slumped down the wall once again and picked up the coffee cup; gross, acidic and instant. She had been spoiled so far with Starbucks but this morning she could not work up the courage to go in because Lexa usually worked all day Sundays.

Clarke fingered through her phone, looking at the last conversation between her and Lexa , sighing. Certainly she was upset, and embarrassed. She put herself out there on a whim and got knocked down. She shouldn't have been surprised; for Lexa the team came first and so did Anya. That was the reality of the situation.

A knocking at the door brought Clarke to her feet as she started towards the entrance and swung it open with no regard for her half dressed, messy haired state. It was a lazy day for the dorm girls.

"Hi, is ugh- Raven here?" The dirty blonde guy said from the door. He stood awkwardly holding a mixed wild flower bouquet from the grocery store. Clarke recognized him from that night at The DropShip.

"Um, she's just in the shower with Octavia… Well not like in in there you know. She just needs help. Because of her leg. Anyways, you can come in." Clarke said crossing her arms over her braless t-shirt clad chest.

The guy looked as skittish as a mouse, ready to flee at any time and it made Clarke chuckle. She led him into the living room and sat down, turning on the TV to avoid awkward silence.

"I don't know if you remember but I'm Wick… I'm from her classes." He explained. Clarke made small talk until the bathroom door opened and Raven's voice filled the hall.

"I'm just sayin' Octavia. If you wanted to grab my tits, you could have asked. No need to pretend like I was falling." Raven teased.

Octavia groaned audibly. "You WERE falling and you would have broken your other leg-."

Clarke interrupted their banter. " Guys, Raven has company."

Raven crutched the few feet down the hall with her towel still around her body. Clarke noticed Wick's eyes instantly avert as he blushed. He stood quickly, wiping one sweaty palm on his jeans. "Hi Raven."

"Wick, what are you doing here?"

"I got you flowers, and I heard about your knee and haven't seen you in class so I just wanted to…check on you?" He muttered as if he wasn't entirely sure what he was doing now.

Raven tried to hide her smirk, but it failed and she chuckled. "That's really nice Wick. I'm going to get changed, but then were heading to my appointment."

"Do you need a ride? I also brought a bottle of whiskey in case you didn't like flowers… it's in my car as a contingency gift." He spilled.

Clarke and Octavia exchange an amused look. "We'd love a ride."

"and I love whiskey." Raven smiled mischievously.

"Wait till after your appointment at least." Octavia rolled her eyes.

* * *

With Raven safe in the hands of Wick and Octavia, Clarke was left to her own devices and sought to dedicate her open Sunday to working on her ball handling and mid- range jump shot that proved to be horrendous in this past game. Campus was quiet with a cool damp October chill and falling leaves. Clarke opted to take a long way to the gym, enjoying the outdoors and the "License to Chill" Spotify playlist booming new music into her ears.

The time alone felt like her soul was realigning and the worries relaxed form her muscles, it was the perfect mindset to enter to workout in. In fact, Clarke felt that she was in such a good mood she could warm up with light interval running on the treadmill in the likely deserted weight room. However, she was wrong; the weight room was quiet but not deserted, as Lexa occupied the far corner with the squatting racks.

Clarke fought the immediate urge to flee, and instead hoped on the treadmill that faced the mirror. In the reflection Clarke could see Lexa lifting. She wore a black cutoff with burgundy Nike basketball shorts, and a curved black baseball cap with a loose bun of brown hair sticking through the back. Clarke's treadmill interval began speeding up as she watched the captain shake out her legs and step under the squat bar. Lexa readied herself, perfected her stance and stood, the muscles in her arms and shoulders tensing slightly and she adjusted, took a step away from the rack and began squatting with the bar on her shoulders. Clarke's treadmill picked up from a jog to a run as she strained to focus on her steps and not on Lexa's ass as she squatted. She must have been on her last rep when Clarke's toe caught the treadmill and tripped her, causing her to catch herself on the handle before it was obvious what had happened. She turned off the treadmill and got off. She sent one more look over her shoulder at Lexa who took a drink from her water bottle and closed her eyes, bouncing her head to her music.

Clarke headed downstairs and took a basketball to the court. She set up cones and dribbled between them and through her legs for a while before moving on. The music played in her ears and she form shot from the middle of the key, warming up her arm motions. She couldn't hear anyone approach, but felt a vibration on the floor from someone else dribbling near her. She turned around and Lexa stood, this time without her hat and headphones, raising a questioning eyebrow to her.

"Hey, ugh. What are you doing here?" Clarke asked as if she had just seen the girl for the first time and had definitely not been staring at her ass 30 minutes ago.

Lexa did not offer her warm smile that Clarke was beginning to be accustomed to. "I book it off after road trips just to have a day to myself."

Clarke nodded and moved to the corner of the free throw line and pulled up a shot that bounced off the rim.

"Working on the jumper?"

Clarke nodded once again, chasing after her rebound. She wasn't sure what the boundaries with Lexa were anymore. "Yeah I couldn't hit shit in the game."

"Want some tips?"

Clarke tucked the ball under her arm and weighed her options. She concluded that Lexa was in fact, her captain and the best shooter in the league. Not utilizing her tips would be ridiculous.

"Of course."

Lexa helped Clarke adjust her stance, ensuring that the blonde's toes were pointed towards the rim and not to the left as she so typically did. She also moved her arm making Clarke hold her follow-through for longer, creating a higher arch on her shot. Soon with minor adjustments the ball started soaring into the net from various spots on the floor. Throughout the process, Lexa avoided being particular warm towards the blonde, treating it as a coaching experience solely, despite how difficult it was for her.

"So who taught you all these shooting tricks?" Clarke stated, grabbing her water bottle and unlacing her shoes on the court.

"Titus for some, Anya for some."

"So they're the reason for you being a superstar from the three?"

Lexa laughed, a genuine laugh. Clarke couldn't help but to smile in response. "Ah, I'm just so comfortable out there. I can see everything from the three."

"Like all your hopes and dreams?" Clarke teased Lexa's serious tone earning a playful shove from the captain.

Lexa's smile fell fast and Clarke knew something bad was going to happen.

"Clarke, I know this mess is my fault. For that I'm sorry. I wish I wasn't so all over the place and I understand why you wouldn't want to be, but I do still want to be friends…. I don't like this tension." Lexa almost whispered.

 _Did she just pull the "we can still be friends card?"_ Clarke wanted to be angry, and for a second she was, but it vanished quickly. Seeing Lexa soften turned the blonde to melted butter.

"Yeah, it's better than you hating me again. That was exhausting" Clarke smirked.

* * *

Clarke opened her dorm room door and was immediately greeted with Wick, Octavia and Raven taking shots from the bottle of whiskey. "Appointment go well?"

Raven made a face at the taste and shook her head. "No, that's why we're drinking." Raven followed with another shot.

"-Tech thinks she'll need surgery, but MRI's are being fast-tracked to your mom by tomorrow morning" Octavia said solemnly.

Clarke nodded slowly; she figured as much but did not want to be the one to tell Raven. She had a lot of homework, and readings to do before tomorrow, but instead, sat down next to Wick and poured herself a shot.

Wick raised his eyebrows. "What are you drinking about Clarke?"

"Lexa"

Raven and Octavia nodded in understanding, Wick looked to Raven confused. "Remember that hot brunette that Clarke was dancing with at Dropship?"

Wick nodded.

"That's Lexa."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Wick asked. Clarke appreciated his nonchalance that he wasn't fazed by the idea, and she didn't have to "come out" for this conversation to be had.

"God, No. She's our captain. She and I are…. We're friends." Clarke stumbled.

"Would you date her?"

"No. It's a bad situation, but like ….I don't know… maybe? I don't really know her outside of this Polis bubble of basketball and drunken dances. I know she likes really strong coffee and being a little spoon." Clarke reflected.

"Woah, wait. Lexa… is a little spoon. How do you know that?" Raven laughed hard.

Clarke dismissed it and took another shot.

"Well, if you don't want to date her, what do you want?" Wick asked innocently.

It was a question Clarke had in the back of her mind, but couldn't figure out an answer; instead she washed it back with another shot.

* * *

Within the hour, the group settled into the living room with the intention of watching a horror movie but instead, they channel didn't change past "Say Yes To The Dress". Clarke spent most of the episode watching Wick and Raven interact, while Raven pretended like she hated everything, she was clearly enjoying herself with Wick. Octavia on the other hand, had her phone glued to her face, not bothering to look up from her screen. She stayed locked in with a mischievous grin, Clarke deduced that it meant either she was talking to Lincoln, or watching food videos on instagram. When a knock at the door rung through and Octavia jumped towards the door, her suspicions were confirmed.

"Did you booty call Lincoln?" Raven called, Octavia shot a grin over her shoulder as she reached the door handle; although, as she opened the door her face dropped.

"What is he doing here?" She spat.

You two need to talk" Lincoln replied, opening the door wider to reveal a similarly perturbed Bellamy.

"Trust me, I don't want to be here either." He replied.

"You trapped me!" Octavia accused. Clarke stood and walked towards the door.

"No, Lincoln is right, you guys need to get over this. It's your longest fight in history." Clarke intervened.

The Blake siblings huffed in unison. Clarke and Lincoln instructed them to sit at the kitchen table and the blonde immediately began mediating discussion.

"Let's lay out universal understandings shall we?" Clarke started. She noticed Raven and Wick turn around on the couch to watch them from the living room.

"This is like 'Keeping Up With The Blakes.' I love reality TV." Raven commented.

Clarke laughed but the rest of the table rolled their eyes. "Okay, Bellamy, Lincoln you guys have to play together and to do that you have to get along. Second, Bellamy, Octavia you guys are super close siblings so I'm sure even though you don't want to admit it, you hate not speaking. Lastly, Octavia and Lincoln are going to fuck eventually."

"Hey! Clarke, what the fuck? I don't want to hear that shit." Bellamy cursed at the last point, as Octavia and Lincoln blushed.

"Now, lets get to the blow up. Octavia, please tell Bellamy why you're upset." Clarke continued.

Octavia proceeded to explain that she was in fact an adult and capable of making her own decisions and able to make adult choices. Bellamy listened, stifling interjections continuously but remained silent, obeying Clarke's commands. When she finished Bellamy explained his side, that Lincoln was his teammate and there's a code associated with that and it applies to younger siblings, at this, Lincoln interjected that it wasn't that specific and got hushed by Clarke.

Clarke moved on from Bellamy. "Okay, and Lincoln?"

Lincoln looked surprised that he was called on. "I um- I just like Octavia, and dude you're one of my closest friends. I want this to be okay." He looked between the siblings.

Octavia visibly melted while Bellamy rolled his eyes.

The conversation continued and amplified into infrequent yelling and cursing before Clarke could finally get them to admit that their relationship as siblings was more important and this argument, and Bellamy reluctantly agreed after much prodding to back off after issuing stern warnings to Lincoln.

"Also- Linc, try to not fuck on his bed. That would be weird." Raven commented with a laugh. Clarke had forgotten her and Wick were even over there still.

"Raven, why must you…. Why are you like this?" Bellamy sneered defeated.

* * *

Clarke laid in bed, doing her nightly social media rounds through tumblr, facebook, twitter and instagram before repeatedly finding herself drawn back to Lexa's accounts. Certainly, Lexa was not a social media butterfly, but her posts when they did occur were interesting. She reposted political and social justice articles to her facebook, or intellectually prompted memes. Her photos on facebook were scarce, her current profile picture being of her and Anya from behind as they laughed together on top of a cliff with a stunning background. Her instagram lacked selfies and seemed as though Lexa had missed out on what being a young adult female truly meant. She posted aesthetically pleasing pictures of food, coffee, mountains of homework and empty basketball courts. Clarke was 187 weeks back when a notification popped onto the top of her screen like she had been caught. The message was form Lexa.

 **[Lexa]:**

 **Important friend question: How would you feel about me if I were voting Trump?**

Clarke laughed at the randomness of the text. She concluded that Lexa was putting forth an effort in being "friends" as discussed earlier that day, and quickly responded.

 **[Clarke]:  
First, Hello Lexa. Second, I would be rather mind blown to be honest. We couldn't be associated though. I'd have to cut all ties. This is theoretical right?**

 **[Lexa]:**

 **Hello Clarke. Yes, it was theoretical; I was just ensuring you are of sound judgment.**

 **[Clarke]:**

 **Before what? We're in this too deep for you to back out now, even if I was voting for Trump.**

 **[Lexa]:**

 **What?! How are we in too deep? We established our friendship formally this afternoon, that is not too soon to back out. You are making your friendship sound a lot like Azkaban.**

 **[Clarke]: Easy there Potter. I'm just sayin' …I'm probably the only one on the team that knows you're a little spoon, Captain. ;)**

Clarke paused before hitting send, unsure if it would be crossing a boundary to even mention the events that transpired on the road. Since she herself couldn't forget it, she did not really want Lexa to put it out of her mind either, so the blonde hit send.

 **[Lexa]: … Alright. I'll give you that one, Clarke.**

Clarke smiled into her phone. _Maybe, maybe we can't be "friends"._

They stayed up for 3 hours longer discussing everything from movies, sports, politics and art. Despite their mutual tiredness, neither wanted to put an end to their discussion.


	12. Chapter 12: Crash

_**A/N: To my American readers, I am deeply sorry for the results of your election. No jokes here, I am truly dismayed for what you will have to endure. Stay strong guys. Canadian's are here for you.**_

 **Take this chapter as a sentiment of my deepest regrets.**

* * *

 _CRASH… CRASH_

"Raven stop!" Octavia yelled. The commotion brought Clarke from her sleep as she glanced at her clock on the wall. It was 11:30am and she was about to be late for class.

"FUCK!" Raven yelled. Clarke swung her legs off her bed and jogged into the kitchenette. Raven stood hunched over with Octavia's arms wrapped around her crying. Broken plates lined the floor of the torn apart kitchen. Octavia looked to Clarke and her eyes pleaded for help.

"Rae, what happened?" Clarke said starting towards the table that now separated them. Raven continued to sob.

"Your mom called. Her ACL is torn; there are some micro tears in her Meniscus as well. She's going to need surgery and the season is done for her." Octavia explained, her facial expressions showing the deep sadness she felt for the sobbing roommate.

Clarke's heart plummeted. _Fuck, I knew this was going to happen._

Clarke kept her distance and let Raven cry it out. She swept up the glass around them and disregarded her now missed class. Octavia was able to calm Raven down enough to get her to sit on the couch and talk.

"I just…. I held out hope. That my season wouldn't be over and I could come back in a few weeks or after Christmas for the second half." Raven choked.

Clarke nodded listening. She had wondered why Raven was originally taking the injury so well, but the fact that it had not been real until this moment explained a lot.

"Guys, I'm on scholarship. If I'm not playing, I don't get that money. I don't know what I'm going to do." Clarke hugged her from the side. It was another thing she had not considered. She knew Lexa was receiving a small scholarship, but aside from that Clarke had not really thought about whom else was. Since both her parents were doctors, her education was never something she thought about in terms on monetary value.

"We'll figure something out."

* * *

Clarke, Octavia and Harper walked towards the court for practice when Anya stopped them. Clarke's heart instantly palpitated. Octavia and Harper continued walking and left Clarke to talk to the captain alone.

 _I would have never guessed a month ago I would be more afraid of Anya than Lexa._

Anya did not smile or offer any pleasantries. "How is Raven? She opted to not come on the road I understand, but I want her to know that she is more than welcome to come to practice. The whole team loves her and misses her. Coach Titus thinks her energy is great for the team whether she is on the court or not. Send her our best again and please, try and get her to come to practice."

Clarke relaxed when the conversation did not pertain her or Lexa. _That is not what I thought was going to happen._ "She um, we found out she'll be needing surgery and her season will be done after that. Please don't tell the coaches or team yet, I think she'll want to be the one to address it. I'll talk to her, get her to show up, she just hasn't really been herself lately you know?"

Anya nodded. "I get it. If you guys need anything, I'm here." With that Anya turned on her heel and walked to the court. Clarke was still taken aback by the kind nature of their conversation, but noted that her tone had more to do with Raven's absence than the current disagreements between captains that Clarke found herself in the middle of.

* * *

Another week of practice had flown by, and Clarke was impressed with her performance. Her cardio was incredible, keeping pace with the small guards in transition and not fatiguing until the final 30 minutes of their exhausting practices.

There was a continued tension between the captains that hindered the success of the practice. Clarke tried to mention it to Lexa but she was less than willing to discuss her and Anya's friendship, simply stating that the older girl would have to get over it and grow up. It worried Clarke, with the fast approaching season opener; no one would have predicted that while the rest of the team was performing to the best of their abilities, their downfall was the communication between captains. Clarke couldn't shake the feeling of guilt whenever they chided each other or looked each other over for passes. It soon become evident to the coaches who made everyone run as a team every time they bickered or fucked up a play due to the lack of communication.

Clarke fingered through her phone after practice Friday, not particularly excited about moving. She glanced at Raven's incoming text message.

 **[Raven]:**

 **How was practice? Anya and Lexa kiss and make up yet?**

 **[Clarke]:**

 **If you came, you'd know.**

 **[Raven]:**

 **next week I promise. I talked to Titus, and I just need more time. Give me that.**

Clarke rolled her eyes and replied.

 **[Clarke]:**

 **Fine.**

 **[Raven]:**

 **You down for tequila night? Boys are hosting!**

 **[Clarke]:**

 **What? No and neither are you. It's not healthy to drink away your problems, Rae.**

 **[Raven]:**

 **Shut up, Lexa is going so I know you want to go. Come home, shower and I'll rifle through your closet and find the best boobie shirt you own.**

 **[Clarke]:**

 **Boobie shirt? And Lexa and I are friends and it's going well so lets not ruin that. Maybe I'll meet someone else tonight then?**

Clarke was not convinced herself but knew it would pacify Raven. She closed her phone and quickly changed and headed home with Octavia. She didn't change her mind about going to the party simply because Lexa was going, but it was a contributing factor.

* * *

" I can't believe you're actually doing this. You're on crutches, and currently in pain." Octavia laughed as the walked across the lobby.

"I won't be in pain as soon as I get that first sweet, dirty taste of tequila." Raven smirked.

Clarke huffed. "Raven that isn't funny! You cannot substitute alcohol for medication. You also shouldn't drink to feel better. And you better not have taken any painkillers, you can't take those and drink."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Clarke, I've seen you drink about your Lexa drama."

"My 'lexa drama' doesn't cause me such emotional distress that I smash up our kitchen. Just be mindful okay."

Octavia poked around in her purse and pulled out a pill bottle. " Don't worry, I'm her mindful distributor." Clarke nodded, silently thanking Octavia for her supervision.

Raven stuck out her pinky to promise Clarke. " I'll be mindful."

They flagged down Wick in his car and drove off to the party.

Some of the guys had a house off campus and proceeded to treat it like a frat house. Clarke had never been but she had heard it belonged to Jasper, Monty, Miller and Murphy. While she liked Jasper and Monty from the few interactions she had with them, she had almost no interactions with Murphy and Miller and was not entirely sure she could even pick out who was who.

They rolled up to the house that was already bumping music. _This is going to get busted quick. Loud music, quiet street? Doomed._ Clarke thought bitterly. She was not in the best drinking mood tonight and began regretting her decision to come. She felt stupid in the outfit Raven chose, too exposed and reflected a mood she wasn't in. They made their way into the house and it was packed with people, most she did not know. It was in that moment she realized she knew very few people outside of her own teammates.

"Who are these people?" Clarke yelled to Octavia over the music.

"Mostly other student athletes. I see some volleyball players, some soccer, a couple wrestlers, there's even the guys from the golf team." Octavia snorted. The group made their way to the kitchen to grab drinks and as soon as Raven entered she received a loud warm welcome from a mixture of faces Clarke barley recognized aside from Jasper, Harper, Monty, Caris and Finn.

"Hey ladies, care for a drink?" Jasper motioned to the large dinning room table lined with various types of tequila with a small keg shoved unceremoniously in the corner. Octavia and Raven went right for the shots, but Wick followed Clarke in grabbing a red plastic cup and filling it with beer.

"Not a tequila guy, Wick?" Clarke asked.

"Oh, I'm DDing all night. One beer to make me seem social, and I'm done. I have a feeling Raven is in for a long night and I'd like to be able to keep an eye on her."

Clarke smiled. "You're a good guy Wick. Raven needs a good guy." He visibly brightened up at her comment and she touched his shoulder and lightly jostled him playfully. They stood in the corner next to the keg for a few minutes, watching people coming and going and Octavia and Raven matching shot for shot until Lincoln showed up to distract her. Shortly after him, Anya flocked into the room. On the other side, a big group had begun dancing in the living area and Clarke and Wick laughed at the awkward couples grinding to whatever music was on; joking about how that was likely what they looked like at DropShip. As they analyzed the floor, Clarke caught sight of people parting like the red sea. Some people smiled in response to the intrusion but others simply got out of the way. Lexa stepped through the crowd with Niylah in tow, smiling and laughing.

 _Shes beautiful._ Clarke thought immediately before pushing the thought from her head. She looked Lexa over, she wore black high waisted jeans with a white flowing tank top. The ensemble made her look taller than she was, as her legs appeared to stretch for days.

"Your girl is here, eh?" Octavia appeared beside her with Lincoln standing protectively behind her.

"Eh? I thought you let that go. You moved to the US when you were like 10." Clarke laughed avoiding the comment about Lexa.

"But I'm Canadian at heart. Leave me alone. Anyways, she's hot as fuck. You may want to go over there and you know. Be 'friends'" Octavia whispered. If Lincoln did know or could hear, he pretended like he couldn't. Octavia quickly pulled him towards the makeshift dance floor.

"That's Lexa right? I'm sorry I'm really out of the whole athlete loop. Oh shit, did I point? She's coming right over here. Should I go? I'm going to check on Raven, good luck." Wick stammered before not so subtlety running off towards the kitchen.

Lexa smirked at his hasty departure as she stepped close to Clarke. "Did I just scare off your date?"

"Date? No. Raven's guy from DropShip remember?" Clarke clarified.

"I was a little distracted that night. I wasn't paying attention to who other people were dancing with" the brunette smirked.

 _Is she being flirty? What is going on?_

"You look nice. A real change from that black reversible and high ponytail. You even smell better. Congrats" Clarke remarked.

Lexa tossed her head back and laughed. "wow, that compliment felt weird, rude even."

Clarke chuckled and tossed a glance towards the kitchen were Anya was eyeing them down. Lexa followed her gaze and visibly tensed.

"Is that going to happen all night? You guys still haven't made up?"

Lexa's smile faded and demeanor intensified. "There's nothing I could say now. She's being unreasonable. You and I are friends. We're teammates were going to talk."

The blonde huffed. "Maybe I should talk to her."

"Oh she wont listen to you. Trust me. Unless, you have good ideas for a new press break. "

Clarke felt more and more uncomfortable under Anya's gaze and decided to go explore the party alone, leaving Lexa to her own devices.

* * *

Lexa had just finished dancing with Octavia, Lincoln and Niylah and went back for another drink. She wasn't drunk but was feeling rather tipsy. At this point all she wanted to do was hang out with Clarke, but the blonde evaded her for most of the night, certainly because of Anya's annoying watchful eye.

"Trying to drain the whole keg?" A voice said from behind her. Lexa straightened up to look at the girl. Her first thoughts were that she was beautiful. She was tall and very thing with angular facial features. Her dirty blonde hair was tossed messily over to one side; evident that she frequently ran her hands through it, tossing it back and forth. Her blue/green eyes were darker than Clarkes but stunning nonetheless. She held a tiny smirk that accentuated a cute chin dimple. Lexa stood up straighter.

"I was having some trouble with the tap. Sorry." Lexa explained and stepped aside.

The girl adjusted her flannel shirt and bent in to fill her cup. "No problems, I'm in no rush. Most of my team is off playing flip cup with your team. Your team is using half a cup of tequila and water mixtures, so they may not be standing much longer." She made a disgusted face.

Lexa laughed. "I feel like I should apologize on their behalf for being heathens." The new girl laughed with her.

"Sorry, what team are you on?" Lexa felt immediately embarrassed that she had to ask.

"Soccer, I transferred this year. I don't really get out often." She replied self-consciously.

Lexa smiled. "Neither do I really. Basketball consumes most of my life."

The girl playfully nudged her shoulder. "Well you're a captain, you've got a lot of responsibilities."

Lexa wondered how she knew about her in general but opted not to ask. "It's a lot that's for sure. Those girls are no walk in the park."

"And how do you stay so sane, tell me all your secrets." She smirked.

Lexa laughed, "They're secrets for a reason. Basketball secrets… you could probably be killed for knowing them." She joked, but it fell a little flat.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name" Lexa continued.

The girl outstretched her hand. "I'm Costia, nice to meet you, Lexa."

* * *

Clarke wasn't avoiding Lexa. That's atleast what she kept telling herself. She made her rounds, played beer pong with Miller and Jasper and Emori, then watched a few rounds of flip cup in the kitchen and wrinkled her nose every time her teammates mixed tequila with water. Soon, she was dragged into the madness. 3 rounds later, Clarke began feeling the affects of the alcohol hitting her all at once. She took a step away from the table and refocused her vision. From the doorway she could see out towards the keg she once occupied with Wick. Lexa stood laughing with a blonde, tall girl who playfully nudged the brunette as if they were good friends.

 _Who the fuck?_

Clarke felt an unfamiliar feeling bubbling up. Jealously. Before she could rationalize her own thoughts, her feet were moving towards them. The two took a step away from each other as Clarke approached and Lexa raised an eyebrow expectantly as Clarke scrambled for a last minute plan.

"Lexa, I'm –ugh… I'm not feeling well and Wick drove but has to stay with Raven. Is the offer for that walk home still standing?" She asked, feigning her best "ill" face. Lexa studied her expression for a moment, confused changing slowly into acceptance.

"Um yeah sure Clarke." Lexa replied before turning to Costia. "I'm sorry, I should get my teammate home. It was nice to meet you"

Costia looked between the two before smirking. She extended her hand and shook Lexa's letting her hand linger for longer than Clarke liked, "It was great talking to you Lexa. I'm sure I'll see you around."

Clarke stared the other blonde down for a moment and Lexa made her way through the crowd and she joined after her. _What am I doing?_

Lexa retrieved Clarke's coat and jogged down the porch steps, spotting Clarke waiting for her by the sidewalk.

Lexa handed her coat and raised her eyebrow, awaiting an explanation. Clarke recoiled quickly and shrugged "What?"

"What was that all about? You don't seem overly intoxicated, nor did we arrange a walking situation." Lexa clarified as they walked in step.

"I thought I was saving you." Clarke lied quickly, inwardly congratulating herself of the decent save.

"Saving me?"

"Yeah she was clearly hitting on you, I thought you needed saving. That's what friends do." Clarke replied nonchalantly. She earned a loud laugh from Lexa who shook her head.

"My savior, but why are we leaving?" Lexa asked.

Clarke inhaled to reply but came up with nothing. "I didn't think that far ahead. My eyes were on the prize. I swiped this off Raven though." The blonde said pulling the black matte flask out of her pocket.

Lexa smiled and swiped the flask from Clarke, taking a swig. The two walked a while longer then stopped in a small park. The alchol form the party and flask catching up to Lexa quickly.

"I used to love playing in the park." Lexa slurred, jogging over to the swings. "I used to spend hours in the parks near our group homes. The best ones were the ones with those wading pools in the summer!"

Clarke smiled, genuinely pleased with how easily Lexa was opening up to her. Sure, the brunette was a little drunk after finishing off the flask together, but the blonde hoped it was just Lexa allowing herself to drop her guard.

"I liked wading pools, but aside from that I can't really swim." Clarke admitted.

Lexa dropped her feet to the ground, stopping the momentum of the swing in a rush, spraying sand up in front of her. She stared at Clarke with wide eyes. "You can't swim? Who can't swim its 2016 Clarke."

Clarke shrugged her shoulders and took a seat in the grass facing the edge of the park where Lexa sat on the swing. "Both my parents worked all the time, there wasn't much time to swim. I was in a lot of daycares, after school art programs… but they don't teach stuff like that."

"Wow that's the saddest thing I've ever heard, and I'm an orphan." Lexa cackled, kicking her legs out swinging up high again.

"Aren't you a charmer when you're drunk." Clarke deadpanned. "And get down, you're going to hurt yourself then where will be for our home opener?"

"I can't hear you." Lexa called, she swung so high that the chains on the swing began to bow.

"GET DOWN HERE!" Clarke yelled.

Lexa slowly began to stop her momentum. "I will if you agree to answer three questions."

"Fine!" Clarke agreed reluctantly.

She rolled her eyes and Lexa's smirk grew wide and she lunged from the swing, landing on her feet effortlessly. She sauntered over and took a seat next to Clarke.

"What do you want to know?"

Lexa smirked holding up one finger to slow Clarke. "You have to answer honestly"

"I will. Maybe." The blonde rolled her eyes and tried not to smile.

Lexa wracked her brain. She had not thought of any questions to ask. "Number one. Do you like it here?"

"Here in this park?"

Lexa glared. "You know what I mean. Are you happy you left Arkadia?"

"I am, you guys here…. It hasn't been easy but every day is worth it. You guys let me feel like I belong, and Octavia, man she's like already a full Polis Grounder now. It's like she never went to the Ark." She smiled, Lexa mimicked it.

"I'm glad. Did I ever apologize for being a bitch during training camp? Cause I'm sorry."

Clarke blushed. "You did and you're forgiven."

"Okay, number 2. Did you…. Pull me away earlier because you were…jealous? Maybe?" Lexa tried, her face showed that she regretted speaking. The liquid confidence rushing the words out before she could analyze them.

Clarke raised her eyebrows in shock and awkwardly chuckled, "Um. For the sake of truth? Yeah. A little bit. To be honest I wasn't really thinking about that I was doing."

Lexa tried to hide her emerging smile. "I get that, I rarely think when I'm around you, if that makes sense."

"I like it when we don't think." Clarke leaned in closer to Lexa. Their closeness made the air seem thick and hot.

"Is there anything in particular you'd like me to not think about, Clarke?" Lexa's gaze fell to Clarke's lips.

"This." Clarke closed the distance, entrapping Lexa's soft lips with her own. She immediately froze at the contact, waiting for Lexa to respond first, waiting for permission.

The kiss went from nervous and morphed into something more determined. Lexa's hesitated movements against Clarke's lips seemed to communicate each of her thoughts. Clarke could feel the conflict of Lexa's head and desires with each passing second. Clarke reached her hand up to Lexa's jawline and intensified the contact, Clarke ensured that Lexa would feel there was a purpose behind the kiss, a need to prove something even if the blonde wasn't sure what. Lexa slowly opened her mouth an invited Clarke's tongue in, embracing her own. The small gesture transformed the kiss again, and in an instant both of their minds went blank as they instinctively reacted to each movement.

Lexa could feel herself melting into Clarke's embrace as the blonde guided her back to meet the grass as she straddled the brunette. Their contact didn't break, and their tongues moved against each others hungrily attempting to bring each other closer. Lexa allowed her hands to wander from the sides of Clarkes face down her shoulders, grazing her ribs and finally gripping her hips. The simple feeling of Lexa's thumbs applying pressure to her hip bones made Clarke moan and jerk her hips forward involuntarily against Lexa. An unexpected warmth curled through Clarke's body and she broke contact with Lexa's mouth to stare into her shining green eyes.

Lexa breathed heavily, attempting to focus on something other than the matching warmth pooling at her and Clarkes centers'.

"Come home with me." Clarke stated, pressing her and Lexa's forehead together. Her voice was rough and low and Lexa could not get over how sexy the blonde sounded.

"Lexa…" Clarke said, breaking Lexa's distant thoughts. Lexa focused her mind where she could, the facts.

 _Clarke, park, grass, tequila…_. _Clarke smells like tequila, shes drunk, I'm drunk….fuck what are we doing!_ Lexa sat up, prompting Clarke to get off her.

" We can't… we shouldn't be doing this Clarke." Lexa defended.

Clarkes eyes went wide and she dramatically slumped backwards. " Seriously Lexa?"

"Yes, Clarke you're drunk, we've been drinking… this is just wrong. She shouldn't have done this. We're friends!" Lexa exclaimed.

"None of my friends have every kissed me like that Lexa."

"Which is why we need to stop." Lexa crossed her arms over her chest.

"Jesus fucking Christ. You're like two completely different people. You want to be friends, then you need to stop looking at me the way you do, and stop flirting with me. This is a two way street Lexa. For fuck sakes!" Clarke argued. She stood, picked her jacket up off the ground and made her way out of the park.

"Clarke, where are you going? Wait, I'll walk you home." Lexa called after her.

" I don't need you to do anything, especially walk me home."

Lexa stood on the street and yelled after her. " It's a thirty minute walk"

"I'll jog.

Lexa stood in the street and facepalmed. _Why has this gotten so complicated. What am I doing? Fuck._


	13. Chapter 13: Feelings From Duty

**Chapter 13: Feelings From Duty**

* * *

"Grande Non-fat extra hot chai latte for you, Octavia."

Clarke stirred in her bed as the voices in the living room mumbled more.

"-and for you, Raven…. Venti sweet cream cold brew." The voice said again.

"Honestly Lexa you're a fucking life saver. I don't know what happened last night but I'm glad it did. Your groveling has its benefits." Raven laughed. Clarke snapped her eyes open. Her head hurt and eyes stung at the light streaming through her windows. The taste in her mouth divulged that she had not brushed her teeth before collapsing into bed last night. _Oh god, last night._ Clarke audibly groaned not wanting to deal with any ramifications.

 _Am I mad at Lexa?...yeah I am… I think. God I need to think this through. Why is she even here_?

"I hear movement. You may want to go get the upper hand." Octavia commented. Clarke swung open her door and was immediately met with an indifferent Lexa, holding a tray of Starbucks drinks and food.

"I ugh- I got you breakfast. Can we talk?" She offered timidly.

Clarke momentarily tried to appear displeased but her guard fell. "Yeah." She gestured to her room but immediately regretted with the appalling state of it.

"Why are you here." Clarke stated, not really asking. It was sharp, shaper than she had intended.

Lexa stayed composed, removing Clarke's drink from the tray and extending her hand. "Well, because if I got here before you got up, you'd have very little time to think about how much you hate me. We're trying this friend thing, so here I am being a friend."

Clarke tried to stop herself from lowering her defenses but it was a slowly failing attempt. She looked Lexa over, the brunette stood in her usual black hoodie and jeans, hair tied up in a loose bun. She was adorable, sexy and beautiful and thus, dangerous.

Lexa smiled brightly, shaking the drink in her hand, prompting Clarke to take it. The drink Clarke realized, was representing more than just a hot beverage, it was Lexa's way of smoothing things over.

Clarke caved after a few moments, taking the drink from the brunette's hand. "Listen, if this is about friendship, we need to get a few things straight. You can't flirt with me. I'm going to be honest here. I don't know exactly how I feel about you other than this need to have you around…."

Lexa smiled, nodding slowly. She could hear Clarke's words, but distantly as she drifted off in similar internal reflection. "And I want you around in some capacity. So lets just be more careful about the bounds of this. We've been negligent and that is why we've failed."

"Us making out in a park is 'failing'"? Clarke criticized.

"For the purpose of our agreement? Yes." Lexa remarked. "Anyways, I have breakfast sandwiches and the banana loaf you like. I also brought my laptop and have the entire first season of MTV's Scream and…. The first Scream movie. I remember you mentioned to Emori that you wanted to see it and compare since you love Wes Craven…. so lets do it. I got a full day planned."

Clarke inwardly gushed. "You're a great friend."

 _Why is she like this. Our friendship is doomed._

* * *

"Ladies, Home Opener tonight. We've prepared for this. We've had our preseason ups and certainly our downs. Tonight we set the stage; we show this league that we are coming in hard and we establishing a hit list. Remember the principles of our team. Work hard, play for 40 minutes. Pain is temporary; you play through your burning legs and jammed fingers. Last, play together. You are a team you pick each other up when you fall, and you support each other in every second. Implementing these principles, we will win…Now-" Coach Titus was cut off by the locker room door opening revealing Raven crutching into the room sheepishly.

"Sorry I'm late, I don't move well with these things" She smiled. The team erupted in cheers for the first time she was present since her accident.

Coach Titus and Coach Indra smiled brightly. "Now, we can play together. Welcome back Raven, we've missed you. Now… Bring it in."

The team stood, and put their firsts in a circle together. Anya prompted "Work on three" the team cheered "work" and jogged out of the change room onto the court.

Clarke and Octavia stopped at the edge of the court, gawking at the fan base. The crowd was packed into the giant stands, school colors dominating the space. Fans held large signs, most related to Lexa's 3 point proficiency. Along with the music, the mumbled phrase cheered over and over by the crowd " Can't stop, Wont' stop" the school unofficial athletic motto.

The Blue Cliff Mountaineers warmed up, their focus never breaking. Clarke remembered most of them from her time playing last year, not the most talented team, nor aggressive but they could shoot the lights out with Lexa-like accuracy. The key to the game was perimeter defense. For Clarke and Octavia, this meant the Blue Cliff posts weren't offensive threats, they simply needed to keep them off of the boards, something Octavia did easily last year.

* * *

Nilyah won tip off with ease, knocking the ball to Anya who went straight in for an aggressive layup, setting the tone. The crowd's energy was contagious and the bench roared with the first point of the game. The next few minutes were dominated by Polis' aggression causing continuous turnovers. The quarter ended with a score of 16-5 for Polis, as a result, spirits were high.

"Great job ladies, way to come out strong. Keep this momentum. Clarke, great job on the boards and with that drive, just look to kick out to Lexa on the 3 when they start collapsing, or take the shot from the elbow, its there for you." Indra instructed, Clarke smiled and nodded, taking the water bottle from Lexa and downing it unceremoniously.

"Lexa, Anya, keep up that aggression. They cannot handle the pressure. We'll stay in full court man." The two girls looked at each other and nodded. They had been playing well, yet independently despite having limited vocal interactions.

The second quarter began and Octavia subbed in, determined to make an impact immediately with her first appearance on the court.

Lexa brought up the ball, crossing over the defender and passing into Clarke on the high post easily. Clarke pulled up for a jumper but it bounced off the rim; Octavia grabbed the rebound and finished. Clarke and Lexa scrambled to get back on defense; Lexa connected eyes with Clarke and grabbed her jersey to get her attention, "Don't worry. Keep shooting…you got this." Clarke smiled and nodded at the well-timed support from her captain. In those moments that was all Lexa was, her captain helping her get her head back into the game.

* * *

At the half, Polis led 45-32, as the girls marched to the change room. Clarke glanced at the scoreboard and shook her head. The 2nd quarter did not go as planned, despite having the lead as Polis began to flounder. Their only down fall was the fact that aside from Lexa, their shots just would not find their way into the hoop.

Both coaches offered their share of inspirational talks but Clarke only heard it from a distance. Instead she studied Lexa from across the change room. Very few facial expressions passed through the brunette's features when she played. She remained stoic, almost cold; if anything anger prevailed. Through it all, Clarke still thought she was beautiful, a thought she chastised herself for even admitting.

Halftime ended and the girls retook the court, so Clarke took the opportunity to speak with Lexa while the other girls took the remaining moments to stretch out and grab water.

"So, what do you think?"

"What do I think about what?" Lexa retorted, she was that other person right now. The person that came out when Lexa was in the general vicinity of a basketball court, the Lexa she had met and the beginning of the season. It was this Lexa that Clarke decided, would be easier to keep away from.

"The game, what do we need to be doing better? You're a captain and you're shutting down on us." Clarke accused.

Lexa scoffed. "I've scored 22 points, I wouldn't consider that shutting down, Clarke."

Clarke rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean."

Lexa softened a little "We're slowing to their pace, we're playing their game now and they're catching up. We have to get back to playing our style."

Clarke nodded but before she could reply, Anya approached from behind Lexa. "I don't want to interrupt, but we have a game to be thinking about. It's time to focus, especially you Clarke, your shot hasn't dropped all game."

Lexa immediately turned defensive. "We're talking about the game, and you're not exactly being the supportive captain you pride yourself on. You should probably get back to that."

" Oh I don't think I could offer Clarke the same type of …support you do." Anya exclaimed as the buzzer went off, making the girls return to their benches.

Clarke's stomach flipped. She didn't want them arguing, especially not about her and even more, not before they had to secure a lead going into second half.

* * *

For Polis, the first possession felt uncomfortable for everyone on the floor. It was hard for them to maintain the energy they once had, and to make things better, Blue Cliff switched up their formally ineffective offense towards a more post heavy presence, now outsizing Polis. With the added need to adjust to the sizing difference, their man to man defense was not working. Given the limited communication between captains, Anya and Lexa fumbled around each other, switching on screens and creating unnecessary mismatches. As a result, Blue Cliff came out with quick buckets.

Coach Titus kept the defensive the same, calling for a full court aggressive press. Lexa locked down her girl sprinting along side her and turning her continuously before she ran square into a hard screen. Lexa's smaller frame bounced off the bigger girl, sending her flying backward and crashing on the hardwood floor with a crunch. The crowd gasped and the offensive screener picked up a moving foul. Lexa laid on the flat of her back for a moment as her breath returned to her lungs. She could hear Clarke's voice yelling as stood, turning her head to see the commotion on the floor.

"Why did you call for a switch onto a post!? And why didn't you call that screen Anya! Jesus Christ" Clarke yelled, her anger evident in every articulated word. She and the other players jogged over to check if Lexa was okay. Lexa brushed them off and motioning for the athletic trainer to remain put. If there was any lingering pain, it was not shown by the brunette.

Coach Titus subbed off Anya in anger. Her failure to warn Lexa about the screen could have had dangerous repercussions, but Lexa pushed that from her mind.

Over the next two quarters, Polis failed to recover their energy and focus. Lexa's shots from the 3 suffered greatly as did the overall team defense. With 0.25 seconds left on the clock, Polis was down 3 points. The desperation on everyone's face was evident, they were finally awoken, but it may have been too little to late. Coach Titus scrawled a last ditch plan to tie the game and proceed to over time as Anya, Lexa, Octavia, Emori and Caris took the floor. Clarke felt nauseous and could hardly look as Polis got the ball on the sideline.

Blue Cliff immediately got into position to pressure the ball. Caris stood on the out of bounds and inbounded the ball, the Polis players accurately ran the intricate play, ending with a hard screen and roll by Octavia as Lexa was open just enough to pull up the ball for a shot from the three. Clarke held her breath and released it as a cheer when the ball swished through the net. The crowd erupted along with the bench before the loud Referee whistle sounded.

Everyone turned their attention to the ref who faced the score table and announced. "Toe over the line, shot only counts for 2. That's the game."

The crowd booed in outrage and Lexa slumped to the hardwood with her head in her hands. Blue Cliff cheered loud.

* * *

Coach Titus and Coach Indra kept the post game talk short and mild tempered, which concerned Clarke more than if they had yelled. She knew they had not performed to their own standards. As the coaches left the room, everyone slowly untied their shoes, opting out of conversation al together, a state of group shock.

Lexa stared out into space, thousands of miles away. Clarke watched as her breathing grew faster, her nose began to flare with the raising anger. She stood and in one violent motion threw her water bottle at the wall behind Harper, earning gasps from the group.

Anya remained calm and simply looked up at Lexa and ended the silence in the room. "I don't know why you're acting like a petulant child, Lexa. You're the cause of this."

The rest of the team sat eerily still unsure of how to react to events.

Lexa turned around to face Anya, her expression twisted with disgust. "Me?! You're holding this ridiculous grudge and it's tearing us apart."

Anya stood and raised her voice, "your choices have done this."

Emori threw her hand sin the air, "What the fuck is actually going on? You guys have been going at each other for weeks. I can't take it. You both are acting ridiculous and you're both bringing down this team. For fuck sakes you are our captains, get it together."

The group nodded in unison.

Caris spoke next, more concerned than upset, "what is this about anyways?"

The two captains looked each other over angrily.

"Lexa cannot be trusted to do her duty to this team with a clear conscious." Anya spoke through gritted teeth.

The comment set Lexa off, acting as a spark to a powder keg as she screamed.

"I am more than capable of separating my feelings from duty". The anger in her eyes and voice unlike anything they've seen from the captain, she appeared to shake with every word. Her tone alone was enough to stop an army in their tracks.

Octavia stepped between the two, pushing them away from each other.

"Your feelings about what? You still haven't told us what the fuck this is about." Emori commented.

The two captains remained silent, not knowing if they should answer or if they could. A few seconds passed before Clarke spoke for the first time, "Me, its about me."

Eyes went wide and the silence filled the group so Clarke continued. " Something… something happened with Lexa and I, and Anya was concerned it would affect the team, so Lexa put an end to it. We're friends now, nothing more so you have nothing to be concerned about." She clarified.

"Okay, you know what, you guys talk it out. No one is leaving until you do so. We'll be out there guarding the door. Please don't kill each other. We need you two, and we need you on one page." Niylah negotiated.

* * *

The girls sat in the varsity lounge outside of their change room. No one had spoken a word yet. Clarke sat on the floor hugging her knees.

 _Fuck, what did I do, I just came out…. What's going to happen_? _Why have I been such an idiot this semester?_

As if Octavia and Raven could hear her thoughts, they offered reassuring smiles and Octavia wrapped an arm around her friend.

"So ugh… Harper… you owe me $20" Caris said trying not to crack a smile.

Harper began to laugh but stifled it with her hand. "I hate it when you're right."

Octavia stared them down with a questioning glare, forcing them to explain.

"Caris bet me $20 that Clarke and Lexa were up to something. I just thought they got over hating each other."

"But I saw those heart eyes." Caris laughed.

Clarke rolled her eyes. "So you guys… you're okay with my being bisexual?"

Niylah spoke softly. "If we're fine with Lexa being gay why would we condemn you for being Bisexual? Come on Clarke, I would have thought you knew us better than that."

"That's why you left Arkadia right? I hear they're not the most liberal institution in the conference." Harper asked.

Octavia pursed her lips together tight before speaking. "Yeah they were really fucking terrible to Clarke."

"Fuckers." Emori gritted.

"Anyways, Clarke. In my opinion the only thing keeping Lexa from getting the ball in the hoop is Anya, not you or you guys' … whatever is happening. Don't stop being yourself because Anya is being crazy." Niylah commented, earning vigorous nods from the team.

Clarke couldn't find any words, she just smiled and sighed. Despite the loss, the fight and the uncertainty of if the captains had killed each other, she was happy. She came out, was supported and it was a weight of the earth off her chest. It was something she didn't think she'd be able to feel again after her experiences last year. `


	14. Chapter 14: Uncertain

**A/N:** I apologize for my hiatus. With exams and graduate school applications, i've been up to my ass. Thank you for your patience and Merry Christmas!

* * *

 _Lexa and Anya sat across from each other in silence. 5 minutes passed, then 10 and no words had been exchanged. In that time Lexa's anger had recoiled back i side and she was beginning to think rationally. Anya sat still, staring at her shoes; in the time elapsed, she lost the tension in her shoulders and now remained slumped, as if the silence had exhausted her._

" _What are you so afraid of, An?" Lexa asked finally. The sudden words broke the still silence._

" _You're the most dedicated person I know, Lexa. Your mind is always on basketball and the success of the team and I've always admired you for that. When you came into this program, you immediately established a culture… a culture of.. of dedication, and a ruthless need to win. When Clarke got here you allowed for your defenses to fall, and you're losing that side of you I admired. So what am I afraid of Lex? I'm afraid that when I leave at the end of this season, you won't lead this program like I need you to."_

 _Lexa took in her words, and swallowed them like sour milk. "I will lead this team as I do now. Any relations I have with Clarke would not impede that. However, if you feel so strongly about my inability to lead this team, then maybe I shouldn't."_

 _Anya looked at her curiously "You would step away from you duties for Clarke?"_

" _It wouldn't be for Clarke, it would be for the principle of it. That apparently, I cannot be happy and be successful as a leader. You've made that abundantly clear. Maybe that is why you're a good captain, you're miserable."_

 _Anya flinched at her words, but decided to not acknowledge them. "Clarke makes you happy?"_

 _Lexa half nodded. "I think so, but I haven't allowed myself to open up, to explore that option at all because of you."_

 _Anya stayed silent and tested the weight of Lexa's words. She looked at the way her shoulders slumped and her head hung. She didn't like seeing the younger girl like this, defeated, confused and angry. "Lexa…I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I …haven't considered your prospective in this." Anya froze, searching for more words to explain her feelings._

 _Lexa knew Anya well, she knew her well enough to know that the apology was probably forced from her, cutting its way out. Either way, Lexa appreciated the attempt. "I will work towards a more equal balance, if that is what you wish."_

" _Just… let me try and adjust. You're not a bad leader Lexa… Maybe I'm just overreacting. You know I'm not good with change. Just give me time to try. Okay?"_

 _Lexa nodded. "Friendship?"_

 _Anya smiled at their old arrangement. "Friendship."_

* * *

Lexa left the Starbucks after an 8 hour shift and felt her phone vibrate in her black jeans. She put the pastry bag in her mouth, juggled her drink to her other hand and proceeded to dig out the phone to see Clarke's name lighting up her screen. She did not hesitate to remove the bag from her mouth and balance it on her cup, answering the phone with her free hand.

"Clarke?! Is everything okay?!" She rushed in a panic.

"um yes... why?" Clarke replied confused.

"Clarke, you called me."

The blonde laughed from the other side of the receiver. "Lexa that doesn't mean the sky is falling it just means I needed to talk to you."

Lexa rolled her eyes and relaxed. "Then text me. What year is this 1998? Jesus! Only call me if someone is dying or near death. In fact I almost had a heart attack just because you called. I'm balancing like 3 things here."

"Alright, Nic Cage, you're over acting. I just wanted to know of you like to come

hang out. Watch more Wes Craven movies, I was thinking A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 version. "

"Um, yeah sure. But we watched a Clarke movie last time why can't we watch one from my favorite director." Lexa smiled hard at the invite.

Clarke audibly huffed. "Fine who is it?"

"I don't actually have one I was proving a point, Clarke."

"You're particularly ridiculous today." The smile in her voice was evident.

Lexa swayed from foot to foot, still smiling wide. She loved her and Clarke's banter. It was fun and effortless and always gave her butterflies. "How about some B-list horror movies?"

"Good with me, see you soon. Oh and Lexa, I'd like to hear about what happened with Anya. You've been dodging that conversation."

The smile faltered from Lexa's face for the first time in the conversation. "Fine, we'll talk. I'll see you soon, Clarke."

Clarke hung up the phone and bolted to the washroom, fixing her make up and adjusting her long sleeve grey shirt with 4 button downs that perfectly revealed her cleavage; her greatest assets or so Octavia and Raven proclaimed.

Sure, she was respecting the friendship. But on a deeper subconscious level she couldn't help herself. If she looked good and Lexa was interested, she wouldn't stop her. And now, with no more barriers, her being out and the team knowing and being supportive it could work. She wanted it to work

* * *

"Well that was a terrible movie." Clarke's words and shifting in the bed pulled Lexa from her gaze. For the duration of the movie Lexa sat with her back against the wall while Clarke half draped across her, learning into the brunette comfortably. They settled into the position so naturally that it felt as thought their bodies were meant to be molded together. Although, an hour in, Lexa's leg began going numb, but she dare not move or say anything. First, because she enjoyed Clarke's closeness, and second, from her vantage point she had a perfect view of the blonde's cleavage.

"It was pretty bad." The brunette confirmed.

"Alright so I watched that… now as we agreed, you have to tell me about what happened with Anya." Lexa groaned and Clarke rolled around to face Lexa, breaking their physical contact.

"Why are you so insistent."

"Because it pertains me, Lexa." Clarke whined.

Lexa huffed again. "Okay fine, we talked, it was angry at first then civil. We cleared a lot of air, opened up…. all that good stuff. We will both try, she's going to be more…supportive."

"Supportive of what exactly?" _Us?_ Clarke thought

" Well… of.…whatever I want… my decisions, I suppose." Lexa stumbled.

"Oh, okay. That's good I guess." Clarke was not hoping for such a vague answer and hoped her disappointment was not evident in her voice.

"yeah."

They stared for a long time, both contemplating if this was going to be a segway into a bigger, more important conversation, and both decided against it.

Lexa sat up straight as if she had been struck by genius "Hey. Let's celebrate. Celebrate with me."

"Celebrate what?" Clarke laughed and the brunettes uncharacteristic excitement.

"Your…. Coming out. I know you were kind of out, but you're fully out. How does it feel?"

Clarke nodded and smiled. "Pretty great. I was so scared after what happened at Arkadia… I didn't think I could feel so …accepted. Its more than that, its that it was almost a non issue. Like I didn't have to make some grand announcement, they would have been okay with my sexuality either way."

Lexa matched Clarke's wide infectious smile. "Because they would have Clarke, We're a team. We're a sort of… family."

Clarke nodded and agreed. "So what kind of celebration are you thinking."

"Well, my Starbucks coworkers and I go to this bar once a month if we can spare the time away from school."

"-Dropship?" Clarke asked.

"…not exactly, its on the other side of town. It's a gay bar called Delinquents. You should come."

Clarke became a little uncomfortable and shook her head skeptically. "I don't want to crash your ritual."

Lexa grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. "Clarke, I want you to come."

The motion itself made Clarke swoon. "Okay…. Sure."

* * *

Clarke stepped out of the cab and adjusted her neckline once again. It was steep grey V-Neck and paired with the red flannel tied around her waist and black ripped jeans, she appeared casual yet attractive. Although, the degree of her push up bra and matching lace g-string screamed anything but casual.

Lexa slid out after her, confident in her denim coloured button down, tight black jeans and pristine white converse. She ran her hand through her brown hair effortlessly and smiled to Clarke, silently asking she if was ready. Clarke nodded and allowed Lexa to take the lead towards the big brick building with music pulsing inside. They did not wait in line long at all, and soon were stepping inside the dark club. Lexa tossed her hand behind her back, gesturing for Clarke to take it as she navigated through the crowded bar.

It was overwhelming for Clarke, so many people and a completely different demographic than that of Dropship. While she was not a small town girl, she was sheltered from much of this. She saw beautifully dressed and pampered drag queens, excited gay men, both young and old. She noticed how easily Lexa was cutting though the sea of people; everyone they accidentally bumped into turned and smiled, apologizing and offering friendly smiles. The more she paid attention, the more relaxed she became. That is, until a small group by the bar raised their glasses in their direction, she recognized two of them from Lexa's store immediately. The brunette quickened her pace and let go of Clarke's hand to hug one girl, moving onto the others as the blonde stood awkwardly awaiting an introduction.

"I'm sorry, guys this is Clarke."

Clarke smiled uncomfortably and waved.

"Yes, we know. Triple Grande Caramel Macchiato. Extra Hot. Oh, and Lexa." One smaller girl with black hair laughed, the others joining in.

"Pardon?" Clarke replied not getting the joke.

"It's what you want when you come in. Your drink and ….Lexa." A tall lanky guy replied smirking, earning a playful shove from Lexa.

Clarke felt her cheeks redden.

"Anyways, Clarke this is Maya, Bryan, Tristan, Mel and….. Where's Jackson?" Lexa asked over the music.

The scruffier of the guys leaned in. "He's helping some girl in the washroom who was getting sick. Always the caregiver that one."

Lexa laughed.

The group seemed particularly interested in watching Clarke's every move with entertained smirks. They seemed to have a pretty good understanding of the fact that things were happening between her and Lexa, but due to her nerves, Clarke pushed that from her mind. Not wanting an audience.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Lexa smirked, casually leaning against the bar, raising her hand to get the bar tenders attention.

"No, but I'll buy you one" Clarke smirked and nudged Lexa out of way, taking the brunette by surprise. Clarke turned to the bar tender across the bar and leaned in "Double whiskey sour and a double rum and coke please."

Clarke paid and turned to Lexa who stared at her amused, quirking an eyebrow up. "You're assertive tonight."

"You haven't seen anything yet."

* * *

"I can't believe Clarke went out without us." Raven huffed, setting her beer down with a clank.

Wick laughed. "Do I need to remind you that you're in a full leg brace and having surgery in three days? What would you be doing at a club anyways?"

"I don't know Wick, but an invite would be nice."

Octavia nuzzled into Lincoln's hard chest. "Oh c'mon Rae, you know it's a Lexa thing. Just let them have their… fun. The sooner they work out their sexual tension the better."

Lincoln let out a deep chuckle. "I agree, even our team has a pool going. Most of us think they'll date before Christmas break."

"Who's on the other end of that?" Octavia inquired.

"Finn mostly, because he's into Clarke and insists she's straight. Murphy is on his side, although just to be a devils advocate I suppose." Lincoln laughed again.

"Anyways, I'm bored. Can we make a fort?" Raven interjected.

"You mean, can we make you a fort since you have a bum leg?" Wick laughed. Raven innocently nodded.

"I can direct."

"That's it, no trying to get up and walk around without your brace Raven. Seriously." Wick warned for the 10th time that night.

* * *

Lexa's group of friends hurried excitedly towards a brightly lit stage and music began blaring, overpowering the previous song from the now far away dance floor. Lexa once again took the lead, holding Clarkes hand behind her. As they joined the growing crowd against the stage, a beautifully dressed drag queen took the stage, capturing all of Clarke's attention in curiosity.

"First drag show?" Lexa yelled in her ear.

Clarke nodded and smiled, barely tearing her eyes from the stage. The queen centered herself and then exploded into an extravagant routine to a Beyoncé song, drawing the crowd's screams. Clarke turned and looked at the faces of those around her; excitement, amazement and pure joy. Everyone danced along and sung as loud as they could. It was inspiring, and comfortable. For once, Clarke wasn't the one performing an act. Here she could be herself, she could dance and kiss Lexa without fear of others being concerned.

When she took notice and returned from her revelations, she saw Lexa staring at her with admiration.

"What?" The blonde blushed.

"You're beautiful. Especially when you're this happy."

Clarke smiled, taking a sip of her drink and looking back to the show.

They stood watching and singing to popular songs as different Queens took the stage. Clarke loved watching Lexa interact within this environment. She was happy and stress free. She sung playfully with the slow songs, soulfully serenading Clarke and twirling her around. They watched together, Lexa settling behind Clarke, flushed against her with both hands on her waist. After an hour, Clarke had pulled on Lexa's arm. "Lexa, I'm going to find a washroom."

"I'll come with you."

"No, its fine I can find my way. Hang out with your friends." Clarke replied, feeling guilty that Lexa had spent very little time with them.

Jackson leaned in, overhearing the conversation. "I'll come with you, I have to go."

Clarke smiled and they took off towards the washroom signs. She followed Jackson as the mass of people thinned and the music lowered. The washroom was down the stairs and around a corner. She was momentarily thrown off when Jackson followed her in, and she realized all the washrooms were gender neutral.

"Pretty great place huh?" Jackson said as they waited in line.

"Yeah, it's really cool. Do you guys come often?"

"No not really, but we try to. Its nice just letting your guard down completely here." Jackson grin widened.

"I know what you mean. I just … fully came out. So it's all …new."

"I'm sure it's a nice break from basketball and Pre-Med… Sorry Lexa told me all about you. I took nursing, I've been looking into trying to become a doctor one day but I'm saving up and working mostly nights at the hospital now, and odd shifts at Starbucks" Jackson rambled he immediately looked embarrassed by his admission.

"That's cool. You're clearly working very hard. I admire that. Op- that's me next." Clarke said, and walked into the stall.

* * *

"Seriously Raven, sit down you promised." Wick cried out, dropping the sheet and letting the top of the tent fall again.

Raven threw her arms up. "You're doing it wrong! I can't just sit here."

Lincoln stood across the room with his arms crossed over his chest and raised an eyebrow at Octavia who simply shrugged and clipped two sides of sheets together. Lincoln quietly walked over to Raven and swept an arm under her butt and in one motion swept her into his arms. "Now. When I put you down. You don't move. Listen to your boyfriend please, He's right. You're going to hurt yourself worse." Lincoln spoke calmly and walked Raven over to the armchair and gently put her down.

"He's not my boyfriend." Was her only retort. Wick noticeably rolled his eyes and returned to building their fortress.

* * *

Clarke and Jackson walked back to the show, but it had just ended and the crowd had dispersed. She looked around and spotted Lexa's friends but Lexa was nowhere in sight. Jackson shrugged and pointed for her to check the bar. Clarke wordlessly agreed and crossed the club. She spotted Lexa immediately, smiling and running her hand through her long brown hair. She leaned casually against the bar, mimicking the exact movements she had done earlier when talking to Clarke. Now, in her place, was the girl from the party. And unlike her and Lexa's earlier conversation, the girl left no distance between her and the brunette. She laughed and allowed her hands to linger on Lexa's body and she spoke into her ear, their chests possibly centimeters apart.

Clarke felt immediately angry and nauseated. A compulsive territorial feeling washed over her once again. Despite this, she weighed her options. She can return to Lexa's friends and ignore what was happening; after all they were technically just friends. Or, she could put an end to it.

 _Fuck it._ Clarke's feet took her in Lexa's direction. She strode confidently, not hesitating when the two broke their close contact to address Clarke's presence. Instead she effortlessly slid her arm around Lexa's lower back and smiled to the brunette as if nothing was amiss. To her utter surprise Lexa recoiled from her embrace and looked at her uncomfortably.

"Um.. Clarke, you remember Costia?" Lexa spoke sheepishly.

Clarkes mind was still reeling from the fact that Lexa had pulled away from her and desperately tried to find words. "Ugh. Yeah, nice to see you."

Costia looked between the two curiously, picking up on the awkward social queues immediately. "Nice to see you Clarke. I'm glad you're feeling okay tonight. Last time you and Lexa had to run off so soon."

Clarkes mind was a hundred miles away from the conversation. Suddenly everything seemed too loud, too crowded and too hot. She wanted out, she wanted to process and think. Before she could, Costia spoke again. "Lexa, you said you needed to run and check on your friends, you go do that. Clarke can keep me company for a moment. Then maybe us three can go dance after?"

Lexa studied the side of Clarkes face, trying to gauge a reaction, any reaction. "Um yeah I'm just going to be back in one second." She made her way through the crowd and Clarke couldn't decide whether she was upset, or relieved.

"So Clarke, is it terribly intrusive of me to ask if you and Lexa are an item?"

The question threw Clarke off further. She felt like a boxer, unprepared for a fight who took blow after blow to the head and could not tell up from down. So she decided to swing, in any direction, regardless of any possible result. "Um, no… not exactly. We're friends. Mostly." _Swing and a miss_

The uncertainty was evident in her voice, but Costia did not care, or did not pick up on it. "Interesting, because, I'm interested. She's really …something. Do you think I should go for it?"

 _Is she completely obtuse? She must see what's going on here. Or is she just that bold that she doesn't care._ With so much circling Clarke's head, she stopped. She stopped swinging and needed to take a knee.

"Excuse me, I ugh, I actually told Jackson I'd be right back. Don't worry. I'll send Lexa right over." Without awaiting a response that she was sure was going to come, she took off. She headed for the last place she saw Lexa's friends and did not turn around. Before she could reach them, she bumped into Lexa.

"Clarke. Wait. Where are you going?"

Clarke whipped around, anger etched into her face "You seriously want me to stand and watch as you guys flirt?"

Lexa looked hurt and defensive, but not surprised in any way. "Clarke, it's not like that. I barely know her."

"And yet you were basically cuddling on the bar. I don't get you Lexa. You act like some impenetrable force. You act like it's the hardest thing in the word to get close to me, and basically state that it's just your nature. But you've known her a cumulative 45 minutes and you were brushing noses basically."

"Clarke it's not like that." Lexa reiterated. She did not have a viable response. She did not know how to address what was happening. Her typically cool and calculated demeanor had faded.

"Stop saying my name at the beginning of every sentence!"

Lexa stood confused for a moment at the off hand comment but ignored it. " I like you. I do, but what are we suppose to do from here. It is still complicated."

Clarke threw her hands up in frustration. "Just because it's complicated doesn't mean it's impossible. This is so you. You can't win every game from the three you know."

Anger began bubbling in Lexa. "What's that suppose to mean"

"It means you have to leave your comfort zone. There's nothing left to stop us Lexa, I'm standing here, and I like you and I've made it clear. The team knows, it's out there. You're the one stopping it. You stay far back on the three and try your same shit regardless if the ball goes in the hoop or not; and if that's what you want… If Costia is what you're interested in instead.. Fine, just don't leave me on the bench. Have the decency to send to me to the locker room."

Lexa looked defeated, as quickly as her anger appeared, the blondes speech made it recoil. "Clarke, please just let me explain."

"This is a lot of déjà vu… so I'm going to go. And… don't follow me please. Don't show up tomorrow. Just leave me alone until you know what you want."

Clarke turned to leave before the threatening tears made an appearance in front of Lexa.

The cold air felt refreshing in her lungs and she pulled out her phone and thumbed through her contacts. She did not want to call Octavia or Raven who would panic and overreact, making her divulge more than she wanted to tonight.

The phone dialed. "Hey Bellamy. Can I have a favour, no questions asked? I need you to pick me up."

His voice was immediately frantic. "Clarke, is everything okay? I've been drinking. I can't pick you up."

"Its okay, I'll find and ATM and take a cab thanks though"

"No no, I'll give my keys and get Finn to drive. Drop a pin and we'll come get you in 5."

Clarke's voice was low and solemn. "thank you"

Clarke walked to the other side of the street and sat down. Reviewing everything and holding back tears. Within 15 minutes, Bellamy's car pulled up. Finn jumped out quickly and jogged around to help Clarke up and pulled her into an awkward hug.

* * *

Lexa spoke her apologizes to Costia and then walked to the exit of the club, as she opened the door, she spotted Clarke sitting on the curb as a black car pulled up. To her surprise, Finn hopped out of the drivers seat and ran over to hug her. Lexa set her jaw tight and turned and walked back inside.

* * *

"Alright Raven, we're going to bring you in now." Abby called. Wick stood to hug Raven and Clarke followed suit.

Raven crutched behind a nurse down the hallway and Abby stayed put.

"Are you okay Clarke? You seem off. More so than usual." She inquired.

"Yeah mom, I'm fine. Just lots going on at school with practices and work. You know how it is." She lied.

Abby nodded and excused herself to begin Raven's surgery. Clarke slumped back into her seat and pulled out her phone. Huffing when she had no notifications.

"Waiting on a text?" Wick raised an eyebrow.

She shoved the phone back into her jeans. "No, I'm not"

"It's been a few days Clarke. Maybe you guys should try and talk it out. It was probably a misunderstanding, at least from what you've told us." He reasoned.

"It's not just the Costia thing, Wick. She's so hot and cold and uncertain…. I just expected too much. That once the team knew and it was out there I thought that we'd…." Clarke stopped thinking about her words. "Do something about it. But apparently it was one sided."

"How have practices been with her?"

Clarke laughed darkly. "Great, we don't utter a word, or occupy the same space. But her and Anya are back to being best friends."

Wick pursed his lips together. "I'm sorry. I think you guys will work it out though."

"I think I'll be better off moving on."

Clarke and Wick waited for a few hours, talking, drinking coffee and laughing. Clarke found herself really drawn to him as a friend. He was sturdy, and certain about his path in life. He shared the same sentiments about his feelings for Raven. Clarke could only hope that Raven did not end up hurting him.

After Raven's surgery, she was rather out of it. She stayed for observation and after 5 long hours in the hospital, they were free to go. Clarke kept her good byes and thank you's short to her mother and they piled into the car with Raven stretched out and drugged out in the back. By the time they returned to Residence, Raven was back to normal and already making plans for her return to the court. She crutched down the hallway and stopped in front of their door where a gift basket with flowers and a bottle of whiskey sat. Clarke curiously bent down and picked up the card and read it out loud.

" _ **Raven, I wish you a quick and safe recovery. See you for the big comeback. – Lexa"**_

Raven smiled brightly at Clarke, who rolled her eyes.

"I like her…" Raven commented as Wick unlocked their door.

Clarke picked up the gift basket and deadpanned. "Well… I don't."


	15. Chapter 15: Implications

**A/N:** Just a quick little chapter, I'm sure you guys will be pleased!

* * *

Lexa turned up the sound on her wireless headphones, allowing for J Cole's raps to permeate every inch of her mind. The rest of the gym melted around her as she steadied herself on the lifting platform and executed perfect deadlifts. Despite being mid season, she decided to lift heavy for the third day in a row. The aggression in her workouts may have had something to do with Clarke, and more specifically her own frustrations with herself.

She grunted, straining to get up on the 10th rep. She let the bar drop to the platform and stepped back, bouncing her head with the beat of the music when she felt a towel whip her ass. She turned around quickly and slid her headphones down around her neck.

"Another heavy lift? You said it was a cardio day." Anya inquired.

Lexa huffed and picked up her water bottle. "Yeah, we'll I suppose I lied to myself as well."

Together they re-racked the weights and returned the bar to its position, moving towards the stretching area to do core workouts. Anya became frustrated with the silence and spoke out first. "What is wrong with you? Are you still upset with me? I said I was going to try."

"No, no its not you… it's nothing actually." Lexa lied.

"That's a lie if I have ever heard one. I know you Lex. C'mon at least when you hated me you seemed happy with everything else. Now you're miserable and angry. Which leads me to believe it's a Clarke thing."

Lexa tensed her jaw and took another drink of water.

"You can tell me. I know I'm not the best person for this given my prior hesitance towards you guys but I am your best friend."

Lexa gave in, knowing it may help to talk it through. She told her the full story sparing no details. Anya listened intently through the story, never interrupting. When Lexa finished she let out a slight chuckle.

"Why are you laughing." Lexa retorted annoyed.

"I just- I'm sorry. I've never seen you like this… first, not this frazzled. You always have a plan A, plan b and c …. and d. Second, I've never seen you this upset over a girl."

Lexa simply starred, unimpressed.

Anya adjusted to fully face Lexa on the workout mat. "Okay, so I have some questions."

"shoot"

"What's with Costia? Do you like her?"

Lexa rolled her eyes. "No! I mean, yeah she's hot… but she's no Clarke."

"There you have it! Why were you even paying her any face time and flirting. It seems like she's an easy option, she's something to keep you from Clarke. Maybe you want that roadblock. You like Clarke, correct?"

Lexa nodded not really understanding.

"So what's the natural next step? Dating? a relationship? Why won't you go there?"

"I like us the way we are, relationships come with all of these complications and implications and I'm probably not a good girlfriend. The moment I'm Clarke's girlfriend, then I'm just going to let her down and myself in the process."

Anya felt bad for the girl. Confidence was not something Lexa Woods seemed to ever lack. She always had a quiet confidence about her that seemingly never faltered, until now. "I understand why you feel like that Lex, but you haven't given it a chance. You work so hard at everything you do, its okay to put this on your plate as well. You can come up for air."

Lexa huffed and moaned, burying her face in her hands for a moment. "I just like being responsible for myself, and that's it. I already have the team that I'm responsible for and carry their expectations. I add in Clarke and I'm going to drop a ball somewhere. "

" Just think about this. Do you care about Clarke? Do you want her to succeed? And do you want to be the best you can be for her? If those are a yes, then I think you're more capable than you're allowing yourself to believe."

Lexa pursed her lips and stood, gazing out of the large window that overlooked the varsity basketball courts. She focused on the bodies playing on the court and saw Clarke, dribbling through cones focused, determined and pulling up shots from the elbow. It made her smile without thinking. From her vantage point she had been unable to see Clarke's rebounder, until he stepped further onto the court to demonstrate something for Clarke to watch.

 _Fucking Finn._ "You've got to be kidding me."

Anya looked up to Lexa from her seated position. "What's wrong now?"

"Clarke and Finn are shooting together."

"No way. He's like high key in love with Clarke."

"Yeah An, I know." Just as Lexa spoke she watched as Finn nodded his head up in her direction and Clarkes gaze followed, falling directly on her. She instinctively jumped and looked away.

* * *

"That was weird." Clarke commented after the awkward eye contact with the brunette.

"Lexa and Anya are usually always up there working out, it's not that weird." Finn defended.

"But she was just like… staring."

"Yeah and she looked upset. Maybe you guys should hash it out you know?"

Clarke dribbled the ball between her legs and shrugged. "No I told her she can speak to me when she figures out what she wants."

"Well, she'd be an idiot to not want you Clarke." Finn spoke seriously. "But just remember, a lot of us have known Lexa or heard of her for a long time. She's not a warm and cozy person. This could be hard for her."

"Yeah… anyways, thanks so much Finn. You've been great and I really appreciate you taking time out of your lift to rebound and help me out."

"It's no problem, if you're good to go, I'm going to head on up and get a lift in. Want to come?" he offered.

"Oh no, you go. And if she asks…don't tell her we talked about her… okay?"

Finn laughed and brushed his hair back, "Sure Clarke, not a problem."

* * *

Lexa peaked through the window once again. "They're leaving… do you think they're coming up here?"

Anya laughed at Lexa's bizarre behaviour "honestly, if Clarke has ghosted you like this for the last few days, I don't think she's going to try and talk it out in the weight room. Besides, the ball is in your court remember? and Clarke is one stubborn bitch"

"Great here comes Finn, but he's alone."

Finn decided on his way up the stairs, that the least awkward solution was to go right over and talk to them, knowing they had seen him. " Hey ladies, how's your lift." He commented casually.

"Great, just finishing up." Anya said pulling herself from the floor.

"How was shooting with Clarke? I didn't know you guys were so close." _Smooth Lexa, very smooth_

Finn awkwardly laughed. "She didn't have a rebounder, that's it. You'd know that if you tried to talk to her Lexa."

Lexa crossed her arms defensively. "That's none of your business, Finn."

Finn put his hands up in mock surrender "alright then, don't make it my business. I'm just here to lift." He walked away and Lexa immediately regretted the exchange.

* * *

 **[Captain Lexa]:** Octavia, I need your help.

Octavia looked at her phone and furrowed her brow.

 **[Octavia];** Is it basketball related?

 **[Captain Lexa]:** Not exactly.

 **[Octavia]:** Then I can't do that. I'm sorry but you really hurt Clarke and she's my best friend.

 **[Captain Lexa]:** I know, I need to make it right. Please, just one small favour.

 **[Octavia]:** Fine. What do you need?

 **[Captain Lexa]:** Please have Clarke believing you guys are going out for dinner. Have her dress nicely. Instead, I will be there at 7:30 pm.

 **[Octavia]:** if she kills me the blood is on your hands.

* * *

"C'mon hurry up Clarke. Friend Fancy date night is a go." Octavia called form the common area

"Can't we just stay in and watch movies with Rae." The blonde called from her room.

"No, lets just have an us night please. I already made reservations."

Clarke came out of the room, dressed professionally, yet cute. Octavia checked her phone for the time just as a knock rung through; she looked through the peephole and swore "shit."

She opened the door and Lincoln walked in dressed in a button down and slacks.

Clarke furrowed her eyebrows "Oh no, I'm not third wheeling…"

"Clarke, I'm sorry this was supposed to be timed better. But you can't- kill me." Octavia immediately began spilling.

Lexa poked her head through the door, saving Octavia the explanation. Clarke was instantly defensive in her facial expression as well as her posture. "What are you doing here."

"This is our queue to leave." Octavia said slipping out of the door.

Clarke yelled after her. "Octavia!"

"Sorry Clarkey."

" What's going on?" Clarke lowered her voice and addressed Lexa.

Lexa looked nervous enough to puke as she gathered herself to speak. "I needed Octavia to lie to you a bit so we could do this. I'm sorry for the deception. Can we talk?"

Clarke wanted to send her away. She wanted to be strong and to not care about Lexa. Instead her only reply was. "sure."

Lexa paced further into the small apartment. "I have been terrible to you Clarke. I see that. I will not sit here and make excuses to deflect that fact. I like you Clarke, I really really like you even though, to be honest I tried very hard not to. You're undeniable. I wasn't ready for that. I was not ready for you in my life. From where I saw it, us going for it and trying to work things out would just lead to me disappointing you and its something I couldn't handle. Until I realized, I have been disappointing you in my own avoidance of it. And I've realized, that I would rather try, than to not have you at all. That is, if you'll still have me."

Clarke melted but tried to seem strong and unaffected. "what …. What would that entail?"

Lexa took a step closer the blonde. "I'd like to take things slow. I'd like to date you, like we should have started with."

Clarke crossed her arms over her chest and cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not going to make it easy for you."

Lexa tried to hide her emerging smile. "I wouldn't expect you to. Nothing about you is easy Clarke. "

Clarke chucked and nodded more to herself than to Lexa. "So why are dressed up. You were banking on me accepting."

"I hoped." This time, Lexa grinned brightly.

Clarke tried to not let Lexa's demeanor affect hers, but she failed, returning the smile. "Where are we going?"

"Our first date." Lexa handed her a pamphlet

* * *

"high-five, you got out of there un scathed." Lincoln laughed. Octavia replied by punching him in the shoulder hard.

"You were early! I could have died!"

"Oh common, you're not that afraid of Clarke are you?"

They walked into the restaurant hand in hand. "You don't know Clarke like I do. She's vicious." Octavia commented.

Lincoln laughed again as they were led to their table. The restaurant was gorgeous, and far out of the college kid budget, Octavia thought. Although, Lincoln insisted so here they were. As they looked over the menu, Lincoln appeared to grow nervous.

"We don't have to eat here. This is …expensive and If I'm being honest, I'll probably still want a cheeseburger after this." Octavia said, hoping to ease his nerves and get him off the hook. Although he looked up surprised and confused.

"No, no this is fine. We can still get you your burger after. But there is something I'd like to talk to you about." He said.

Octavia looked concerned and leaned forward.

"So, we've been hanging out awhile. I really like you Octavia, and I've even gone as far as talking to Bellamy about this…. But would you want to be my girlfriend?" Lincoln spoke, nerves hesitant in his voice. His anxious demeanor made him look incredibly vulnerable and young, something Octavia had never believed could happen.

Octavia squealed slightly. "Yes, of course. Why are you so nervous? Did you actually think I'd say no?"

"It was a possibility." Lincoln laughed, grasping his girlfriend's hand from across the table.

"No it wasn't"


	16. Chapter 16: Slow

**I'm Sorry, I'm Shit. I've been figuring my life out, and i'm moving to Scotland, so any scottish readers, hit me up!**

* * *

"In his Curatorial Debut, Contemporary Artist Dante Wallace tackles the strong and delicate nature of the human body in _THE WAY OF TREES._ This exhibition will run through until January 2017." Clarke read the small introductory panel and smiled brightly. She knew of Dante Wallace and his work. It was typically bright, scenic watercolours and landscapes of rolling hills, strong mountains and floral scenes; this show was discussed as his dramatic change in medium and content.

"Is this okay? I heard some people at work telling me about it, and I thought of you immediately. You're in pre-med so the whole human body thing would be familiar and you love art so…" Lexa rambled nervously; Clarke interrupted her by grabbing her hand and squeezing.

"Lexa, I love it. This is a great first date idea." The blonde reassured. "Now come on, let me teach you a thing or two." she smirked, pulling Lexa behind her into the gallery space.

Lexa immediately tensed while in the exhibition. She felt out of place and she felt as thought everyone knew she did not belong there. She did not understand the art, she did not understand what Mylar was or why they chose to make the explanations of the art more complex than necessary. Although, Clarke seemed to understand on a much deeper level than she herself could fathom. She watched the blonde gaze at each work, her eyes tracing each line, her mouth turning up at each work she liked as if she communicated with it.

Suddenly blue eyes met her brown as she was caught staring. "There's all is amazingly beautiful art here, and you're not even paying attention."

Lexa flushed, embarrassed. "How cheesy would it be if I said that you were the most beautiful piece of art here."

Clarke laughed "Gouda."

"what?"

"As cheesy as gouda." Lexa laughed a little louder than she had anticipated, receiving glares form other patrons. She covered her mouth with her hand and nodded to the spectators in apology.

Clarke blushed again, stifling her laughter from Lexa's outburst. "I'm not art Lexa, but that is very nice of you to say."

Lexa replied without missing a beat , "I think you are."

" That's disappointing Lexa…. Because everyone knows you can't touch the art…" Clarke stated bluntly with a hint of amusement in her eye, awaiting Lexa's reaction.

Lexa involuntarily popped a suggestive eyebrow quirk, but before she could retort, Clarke proceeded to walk away towards another dark sketch of a woman's nude body twisted like an old willow tree.

Lexa smiled to herself and shook her head. _We're taking it slow. We're taking it slow. No matter how hot she is, Lexa, we're taking it slow._

* * *

Clarke groaned and she shuffled behind Octavia and Raven. She held Raven's duffle over her shoulder, using her own to balance out the weight. The cold air did nothing to help wake Clarke up, instead making her shiver under her Polis Basketball tracksuit and jacket. She picked up the pace as the team bus came into view. The girls tossed their duffels under the bus and boarded. They were almost late as most of the men's team was aboard, occupying the back of the bus, and most of their team.

"Cutting it close ladies." Niylah teased.

"We're not last, where's el capitan?" Octavia mentioned looking for Lexa.

Clarke shrugged, just as perplexed as everyone else. Lexa was not one to be last for anything.

"Settle down, I'm 2 minutes early." Lexa's voice called as she climbed up the bus steps, hair down curly and disheveled.

"Which for you is 15 minutes late." Anya called.

Lexa struggled to balance the Starbucks drinks in her hands and the bag on she shoulder as she walked through the isle of the bus. Clarke stood to help and Lexa tripped slightly, barely managing to get a handle of the drinks.

"Shit, sorry." Clarke apologized.

"Not your fault, I'm a mess this morning… actually this is for you." Lexa replied sheepishly.

"Really? That's…. thank you." Clarke replied blushing.

Lexa handed her the drink and rolled to her left, slumping into the seat across from Clarke's. " I figured you'd be in need of caffeine this morning so I headed over."

Niylah turned and kneeled in her seat, looking over to Clark and Lexa. "Y'all are cute, but so…so very gay."

Lexa shot her a glare that prompted her to silently turn back in her seat.

The bus finally began to move as most of the girls drifted back to sleep. Clarke plugged in her headphones and pulled out her sketchbook. She traced lines and swirls … not diving into any particular image for a while until she glanced up, stealing a glance at Lexa who smirked back. Clarke admired the way her hair fell over her large over-ear headphones, and the way the corner of her lips pull up equally as she smiled back. Clarke melted at the way subtle redness intruded her features as their eye-contact lingered before she finally looked away, her smile widening. Clarke looked back to her sketchbook, inspired.

* * *

Lexa woke as the bus went over a bump, jostling her awake. She slipped her headphones down her neck and reconnected with her surroundings. Most people were still asleep, except Clarke for who furiously sketched away, tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Lexa stood, and slid into the free seat Clarke wasn't occupying.

"Hey sleeping beauty" Clarke smiled, and closed her book slowly

"I'm hardly a beauty when I sleep, I'm certain I drool."

Clarke nudged her and faked a glare. "You're always beautiful."

Lexa chuckled. "and you're always gouda."

Clarke smiled. "My how the tables have turned… hey…I wanted to thank you again for our date. I loved it, even if you don't love art galleries it meant a lot."

"You've said that a million times. Don't thank me, I had an amazing time and I'm glad we could actually do it. I like taking you on dates, Clarke." Lexa casually replied and she picked up Clarkes hand in her own.

"Dates as in plural?" Clarke asked.

"If you'll honor me with another."

"Absolutely, this time, I'm taking you out."

Lexa nodded. "Ill look forward to it."

* * *

Lincoln's big hands enveloped Octavia's smaller shoulders and squeezed tightly, he shook her in a way that he surely believed was soft and supportive but in reality jostled Octavia's frame, throwing her off balance. "You ready? This is a big one. Redemption time." He spoke.

"I'm focused, locked in and ready." Octavia replied, staring up at the large letters on the old brick building. AZGEDA UNIVERSITY.

"Remember, they're bigger than you. Don't get caught up in a physical battle down low in the paint. You have to be faster. Hit them quick on the box out, hit them low and keep pushing. You got to keep these girls off the boards." Lincoln coached. Octavia smiled and turned to face him, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Thanks Linc. We're heading in now. So I'll see you later."

" I'll be watching until the 3rd when I have to get ready." He kissed her forehead.

Octavia placed a quick peck on his lips and picked up her bag, jogging to catch up with Clarke a few feet ahead.

* * *

Clarke was taped, dressed and ready to go. The nerves in her stomach were squeezing tighter and tighter into a knot as she raised her fist in the team huddle and yelled, "WORK". The team jogged out to the court and the final door opened revealing a very large and spirited Azgeda crowd settling in for the game.

Clarke blocked them out as warm up began. She found she settled in much better than she thought, the nerves dissipating quickly. Lexa shot like a decorated sniper from the three. Not unlike most days but Clarke was endlessly impressed with how easily she locked into the rim, even with Harper practicing closing out with a hand in her face.

After the energy filled warm up, Polis circled up on the court to talk amongst themselves. Clarke wrapped her arms around Emori and Octavia in the huddle and drooped her head to listen to her captains.

" We lost last time because we did not pay like a team. I will take accountability for that. Tonight I will be better." Lexa yelled, her game face taking over.

Anya nodded furiously and echoed Lexa, "Tonight, I will be better."

The team echoed this, taking accountability one by one "Tonight, I will be better."

When they finished, Lexa spoke again. " Tonight, we will play our style, We will play hard and we will play together. We do that, and tonight, we will win." She raised her fists again and the team yelled, jeering each other in excitement and followed suit.

* * *

Both teams took to the court, preparing for jump ball. Lexa sauntered over and expressionlessly shook hands with the Azegda captain. Niylah approached the circle and the ball was thrown, her finger tips grazed the ball enough to tip it to Anya, and the game begun.

As the 1st quarter came to a close, Clarke took a seat next to Octavia on the bench, ready to start the second quarter, Polis holding an 18-14 lead. Azegda had come out aggressive but Polis over-powered them with a dominant lexa shooting from far beyond the three point line, and Octavia cleaning up the boards down low and staying quick yet strong in the face of the bigger posts. Nylah put forth a good effort but failed to keep the Azegda posts off the boards, and left the court in Indras favor of Octavia's speed.

The team took to the court once again, Slowly allowing the clock to wind down and bring them back into the game.

"Clarke, I'm really going to need you to drive and the kick out to Harper on the three so she can swing it. You're doing a good job getting to the rim, but their posts are too big and you're not getting the calls. Let's move the ball" Lexa instructed seriously. In moments of leadership, Lexa's demeanor completely changed from heart eyes to combat mode, and it didn't bother Clarke, in fact she found it a little sexy.

"Aye Aye captain." Clarke smiled, winking.

Lexa smirked but rolled her eyes "I'm serious Clarke,"

Clarke walked to the high post position and called back to Lexa "I know."

* * *

From the beginning of the second quarter, Azegda changed their game plan. Every time the ball was kicked around to find Lexa on the three, Azegda's 1-3-1 defense tripled her, preventing her from getting a shot off. Titus called time with 4 minutes left in the half.

"Lexa you're going to have to come off the three now. They know your bread and butter and were wasting offensive possessions; you gotta get to the rim. Clarke, great job on the drive and kick, keep it up. Anya you take the long range shots as they run o cover Lexa."

The team attempted the new game plan, but every time Lexa got the ball, every muscle in her body screamed at her to shoot, as a result her hesitation trapped her behind a wall of three Azgeda guards. The half ended with Azegda only down 1 point.

* * *

Every muscle in Lexa's body screamed. Her lungs burned and her head began to fog. Lexa as an athlete and a leader was so successful in times of stress for one reason; her ability to keep pushing. In times of exhaustion, when her brain slowed and muscles quivered, she did not stop. Lexa over simplified everything to herself in those times, saving complex thoughts for a time with more energy. She spoke to herself as she pushed herself to move. "Don't shoot Lexa. Keep sprinting. Don't stop. Drive. Drive to the rim. Don't hesitate."

Halfway through the 4th quarter, Polis's game plan was successful at keep their heads above water. Lexa without hesitation, began driving, and as a result, picked up fouls for easy buckets. On each drive, she moved with Clarke well without communication. Each time Clarke just knew whether she should space to the short corner or rush in for the board. Clarke's impressive mobility offensively allowed for Polis to play a smaller lineup, with only one post- Clarke and Octavia switching interchangeably.

With 2 minutes left in the game, Polis was up 15 points. A secure enough lead that Indra and Titus opted to put in the rookie players and give Anya and Lexa their first sub of the game.

The game closed out for the Polis win.

* * *

Coach Titus finished his post-game talk, congratulating the girls on their hard work. As he left the girls jumped around and celebrated loudly.

"Okay okay, guys game is starting. So I want to shower quick." Octavia said, stripping the sweaty jersey from her body.

"Hah, yeah right Blake. Captains get first shower." Anya exclaimed walking to the shower stalls with a towel wrapped around her.

Lexa looked to Clarke and cleared her voice. " I'm actually going to get ice, Octavia you can shower before me. I'm in no rush to watch the guys jog around, sweat and flex."

" How not surprising" Niylah winked.

Lexa rolled her eyes and asked if anyone else wanted bags of ice and slipped out of the room. By the time she had returned from removing all her tape, getting stretched out and grabbing ice, most of the team was gone or on their way out.

Clarke greeted the brunette as she came back in the door. "Oh you definitely planned that. Coming back just as I'm about to shower?"

"Of course I did," Lexa chuckled.

The two girls stripped down, and individually slipped into the showers that separated them by two curtains. Lexa washed the shampoo out of her hair, eyes closed and embracing the warmth of the water when she heard her curtain rake back and her eyes snapped open in surprise, instinctively covering herself.

Clarke entered her shower and smirked. " Can you get my back?

Lexa's eyes widened in surprise. She attempted with every ounce of strength to look only to Clarke's eyes but she failed as her eyes wondered down Clarke's naked body and her mouth when dry.

"Is that a yes?" Clarke walked forward, and handed Lexa the body wash, thoroughly entertained.

"Clarke… What if someone comes back in?"

"Then we get caught"

Lexa didn't argue further, instead poured the body wash into her hand and Clarke spun around. Lexa''s eyes travelled over her well-toned ass and her hands began to tentatively shake as she reached out and touched Clarke's shoulder blades. She lathered it in for a moment before Clarke turned back around, inches from Lexas face, and pulled her by her shoulder into a warm kiss. Clarke instinctively whimpered as Lexa's tongue entangled with her own and Lexa pushed her against the cold tiles of the walls. The captain's aggression made Clarke more wet than she had ever anticipated.

Lexa moaned against Clarke's mouth as Clarke pushed her chest forward, pressing her breasts against her own.

Clarkes head swam and she forced herself to break the connection. "I really want to do this. But were in a dirty shower in Azgeda.'

Lexa groaned. " You started this"

" I know. Im sorry."

" You're the worst."

Clarke slipped back to her own shower, her hand travelling between her legs and she felt her own wetness coat her fingers as she sighed. _We're taking it slow. We're taking it slow. No matter how hot she is, Clarke we're taking it slow._


	17. Chapter 17: My Alma Mater: Arkadia pt 1

"Grande Blonde Vanilla Latte for…. Becky with the good hair." Lexa called out, the end of her sentence falling flat; unamused. Two preteens shuffled to the hand off bar and received their drink. Clarke watched from the door and giggled at the interaction and the clear irritation it gave Lexa. Months earlier that look sent cold shivers up Clarkes spine, now she thought it was hot how the brunettes eyebrow cocked up and her jawline set, pronounced, like she was attempting suppress an inner battle with her bumbling anger.

"Yikes, when she gives me that look, I usually run away." Aden laughed, and skipped to the end of the line. The movement broke Lexa's focus from the espresso bar and looked up to Clarke and smiled brightly, expression making a 180. She then gestured to the presence of Aden and Clarke walked over the handoff bar to explain.

"I was shooting at the gym and Titus has a bunch of athletic department meetings so Aden was just hanging around all day, so I said I'd take him. We're coming to do homework. I promised him the most labour intensive Frappuccino on your menu." Clarke smirked.

Lexa rolled her eyes, "I love you but I hate you." Her eyes went wide and rushed out "I mean, not like love…like I'm not saying…. OMG. I'm going to stop talking."

Clarke fought off her laughter, and Lexa collected herself "I mean… Its great you're hanging out with Aden, We both appreciate it. He hates math by the way, make him do math."

"I hate math too. We're not doing math." Clarke laughed and joined Aden in line.

* * *

Raven grunted and fidgeted with her leg immobilizer on the floor, capturing Clarke's attention as she poured herself a drink in their kitchenette. The blonde wordlessly walked to the living room and knelt, straddling Ravens leg. Raven rolled her eyes "I don't need help Clarke."

"Yes you do, you've been struggling for 30 minutes." Lincoln said from the couch, lazily playing with Octavia's hair and watching some skeezy TLC show.

"Just let me help." Clarke undid all four straps of the immobilizer and opened it. She adjusted it under Raven's thigh and analyzed the swelling. "The swelling has really gone down. You should head back to physio like my mom said, you should be ready to start small movements to prevent atrophy." Raven nodded and Clarke continued adjusting her brace, applying the perfect amount of pressure and tightness to the straps to ensure it would stop sliding down her thigh.

"Look you, Doctor Griffin. Killin' the game." Octavia laughed.

"Speaking of the game… Clarke where are you and Lexa standing?" Raven inquired, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Before you say too much, keep in mind Lexa has been like my little sister since her rookie year." Lincoln winced.

Octavia hit him in the chest resulting in a hard hallow sound "You had no problem with sisters when you so enthusiastically deflowered your teammates actual little sister."

"Everything about that sentence made me uncomfortable, lets stop talking about fucking sisters alright?" Raven said "back to Clarke…."

Clarke rolled her eyes. "We're taking things slow….. very slow … emotionally and physically."

"So no captain ass yet? Are you dying?" Raven crudely remarked.

"I'd be! Lexa is hot as fuck, have you seen her body? I'd do her." Octavia laughed and Raven pointed to her in agreement. Lincoln's jaw dropped. "Hi, boyfriend here. The big boulder you're currently laying on."

Octavia cackled. "Don't worry Lincoln, you don't have competition anywhere."

"So … do you think after the Arkadia game? It'll be high stress, lots of emotions…. Road game…." Raven spoke suggestively.

"Unlikely, I've actually tried my hardest not to think about that game coming up. Why does it have to be on their home court."

Octavia looked at Clarke sympathetically, understanding that the blonde was more nervous about the upcoming game than she was letting on. "C'mon Clarke, how great is it going to be to put those bitches in the ground on their own turf. The best revenge is success. You can show up, kick their asses and be like ' hey this is my hot sort of girlfriend, she's a captain and the leagues leading scorer.'"

Clarke studied the fabric of the carpet and commented, "Yeah… maybe… I don't know. I just don't want to go back there ya know?"

"How about this, when we win, because we will, we host a celebration party? Its also end of the first term! Everyone's leaving for the holidays after exams it's all perfect." Raven commented.

Lincoln laughed. "Yeah and Raven gets to host a party, which is her real aim here."

"You're not wrong."

* * *

"No no no, you have to understand…. Lexa as a rookie was a fucking nightmare." Anya laughed and Lincoln nodded in agreement.

"No I wasn't! I was rookie of the year."

" No, as a first year she was basically a 50 year old man. She brought scotch to the fucking rookie night." Niylah cackled.

Lexa shrugged. "I don't drink vodka…. And I like to taste my alcohol thanks…"

Emori joined in. "Remember when we were all crushing on the men's team, and Lexa oh so subtly threw in that she had a crush on that senior on the women's soccer team."

They all laughed.

"It was always a soccer girl with, Lexa." Bellamy chimed in, grinning.

"until… Clarke." Anya acknowledged.

An awkward silence fell on the bus and Clarke blushed. Anya kept the conversation moving. "Niylah remember when Lincoln came to us and was like 'hey I think your rookie likes me…. She's always asking me to shoot with her and lift.'"

Lincoln groaned and buried his face in his hands.

Lexa laughed and rolled her eyes " 'Kay, he was always alone or sparsely talking to Anya so I asked if he wanted me to rebound for him, and if he wanted to lift with me… He looked lonely"

Emori smiled "Lexa is so very gay so its hilarious. Everyone knew but him."

The group laughed and Clarke smiled as they interacted. She loved the way they spoke about Lexa and allowed her to catch glimpses of who Lexa was before she was around.

* * *

"Um, we have the night off, curfew at 10 lights out by 11. Tip off is at 6 tomorrow and we have a shoot around at 10 am. Strict scheduling here." Clarke spoke into her phone as she unpacked her bag on the hotel bed.

"What are your dinner plans?" Abby asked.

"Um… not team dinner, I think we are just to fend for ourselves. I was thinking of walking to our old favorite, _Farm Station_ with a few of the girls." Clarke smiled, nervous but excited to be in her hometown.

" Clarke, why don't you guys come here? I am not on call tonight and I can have Maria make dinner for us all. Please, Clarke I'd like to have you home, bring Raven and Octavia, and … your friend Lexa, the captain."

"ugh…" Clarke scrambled for an excuse not to, but came up short after already showing her hand. "I'll be there, I'll ask the others and give you an estimate on who'll come."

"Perfect, I'll send a car to your hotel."

"Mom, no we'll take the bus or something." Clarke scrambled again.

" Don't be ridiculous, Clarke. I'll send a car."

Clarke knew it was pointless to argue this, so she caved. "okay… thanks mom."

Clarke hung up and inwardly panicked. She looked to Octavia who emerged from their washroom. "Abby wins again?"

" Yeah… she wants us to go to dinner… at my house."

Octavia chuckled and dried her hair in her towel "Your mansion you mean?"

"Not funny. My mom is so over the top… it's embarrassing. She wants you and Raven and Lexa to come…"

Octavia threw her hands up in excitement "Fuck yes I'm in, Maria can fucking cook. And if I don't have to use my meal money, the better. 20$ a day on the road barely gets us breakfast and lunch"

"Octavia I'm serious, Lexa doesn't know… what my house and mom is really like and we're not anything yet! And she coming to dinner with my mom. I haven't even told her my mom still has a housekeeper " Clarke whined.

"Hey calm down. Just talk to her and ask if she even wants to come. It doesn't have to be a big deal unless you want it to be a big deal."

" … okay. "

* * *

Clarke knocked twice timidly on room 402. The door swung open quickly revealing a casual demeanoured Lexa. She dawned shorts and a sports bra, wet hair and brush in hand, clearly out of the shower from the long bus ride.

Clarke took her time scanning over Lexa's tight body, momentarily forgetting her intention.

"Clarke? What's up?"

"Oh um.. Distracted sorry." Clarke said slowly, allowing a smirk to come across her liips.

" Yeah I bet you were" Lexa smirked back to the blonde.

Clarke shook the thoughts from her head and refocused. " So. My mom wants to host a dinner for me. She wants you to come…"

Lexa's eyebrows shot up. "Me? Um….. does she know… Clarke?"

"She doesn't but she remembers you from the hospital, not to mention she's in love with your stats on the court so…"

Lexa laughed. " Ill come. Absolutely, but is this more than a friend dinner or …"

Clarke cut her off. "Octavia and Raven will be there. I'm not sure I'm ready for her to know…"

Lexa clearly deflated, but she remained unsure to herself as to why that was. The brunette was aware herself and Clarke had not established anything official between themselves, so why would Clarke tell her mom. What would she even say? "Okay, yeah sure. Friends. What time?"

"40 minutes? She's sending a car. I should tell you now… it's all a little bit … over the top." Clarke cringed.

" Clarke, your mom is a very highly recommended Ortho surgeon, she works on professional athletes. I deduced your home life would be… 'over the top." Lexa chuckled at how uncomfortable Clarke became when trying to subtly tell her she was rich, as if Lexa had not already known.

Lexa leaned in and kissed Clarke the lips, silencing protests and putting Clarke's mind at ease. She had never been particularly comfortable with her families' economic status, especially in regards to her friends who lived entirely within their more limited means. It was hard to understand Lexa's plight from her stance, and Clarke did not want her own privilege to come off non-chalant.

" See you then. " Clarke smiled.

* * *

Lexa gulped taking in the size of Clarke's home. The whole community seemed surreal; she was surprised it was not gated with the size of each home. Everything screamed charming, from the small old-fashioned shops with hand painted signs, to the pristine grass on every lawn. They circled a roundabout around the town center's giant fountain decorated in time for late fall blending into the holidays. As they pulled into the driveway, Lexa timidly stepped out. She was behind enemy lines; this place was so very different than her own unstable upbringing. She focused, locked in as if she was lacing up to the court.

Lexa strained her head to take in the full size of the home. The two-car garage held the same dark oak accented colour as the rest of the exterior with soft beige stone and cobblestone drive way. She tried to collect herself and Clarke gripped her hand pulling her attention and she flashed a fake confident smile. Clarke held the opposite gaze, her blue eyes fiercely searching Lexa's greens, gaging her reaction.

" Everything alright?" Clarke asked when she could not get a definite read.

"yeah of course. " Lexa smiled and lied.

"Alright… just for dinner and we're out"

"Lets go, Homo's!" Raven called over her shoulder.

" Raven! Shhh. Jesus," Octavia chastised, opening the front door open for Raven as she crutched inside.

Abby cordially welcomed everyone into the home and Maria poked her head out at the sound of Clarke's voice, shuffling out to wrap the taller blonde into a big hug. Clarke squeezed the older lady tight. The Griffin's had hired her on to look after Clarke as Jake and Abby worked constantly. She was meant to come in from home each day, help clean, cook and supervise. However, Jake and Abby's hours got longer and longer and soon, Maria was spending most nights a week, raising Clarke. Maria did not have much family of her own on this side of the country, Clarke tried many times to convince her to leave and go and join them, but she found a home at the Griffin's and despite Clarke leaving for school, Maria remained.

The group got settled at the dinner table and the conversation begun with discussion of each gory detail of Raven's surgery, and preceded into each detail of her rehabilitation. It was a crutch and Clarke knew it, medical stuff was her mom's safe space, when unsure of how to conduct herself or to avoid familiar troubles, she went to surgery.

Octavia broke the conversation between Raven and Abby first. "So Clarke, is Orthopedic Surgery still something you're interested in?"

Clarke snapped her head up at the mention of her name. "um… no, not really. I'm becoming interested in Cardiothoracic surgery, the respiratory system is incredibly fascinating."

"Oh! I don't know about that Clarke, It's not suited for you. Perhaps pediatrics? kids are more your pace." Clarke knew it was a dig, even though there was nothing wrong with pediatrics, Abby looked down on the field without recognizing her bias.

" I think you could pull off any specialty Clarke." Lexa assured and slowly sipped from her glass. She had been silent most of the time. Clarke smiled but silently wished that she had said nothing on the matter; Abby would take it as a challenge.

"Hmm. Lexa, you've been awfully quiet. You're also the one I now about the least! Please, tell me about yourself."

Lexa looked to Clarke for support and cleared her throat. "I'm from Polis. Born and raised, I haven't travelled far outside of the city unless for basketball actually. I'll be heading into my last year of my Political Science degree next fall and looking to maybe write the LSATS. " She shrugged and never broke eye contact with Abby who raised her eyebrows , impressed.

"That's a lot on one table, much like Clarke here. Do you have a boyfriend ?"

Lexa and Clarke were both unsuccessful in hiding their shocked expressions at the direct question. "Mom!"

Abby simply turned her palms up to the sky in mock questioning "what? It's a normal question, Clarke. Relationships are hard to balance with school and basketball."

Lexa interrupted slightly "Um, no Mrs. Griffin I don't. "

"That's a shame, you're a very pretty woman, Lexa, smart too. You Clarke? Still keeping Ballamy at bay?" Abby continued to prod.

Octavia and Clarke rolled their eyes. "Jesus mom that is never going to happen."

Octavia swooped in for the save. "I have a boyfriend, Abby. You'll see him at the game tonight, tall dark and gorgeous."

Abby smiled and chucked. "I'll look forward to meeting him! And you Raven?"

Raven shrugged, more interested in her food. "I have a…. Wick?" She laughed.

Clarke rolled her eyes. There was likely no way that Raven was going to accept Wick as her boyfriend, despite them acting as an old married couple.

Lexa looked around the room for the millionth time, trying to picture Clarke in this setting through the years, it was hard. For everything she knew about people who had stunning homes likes this, Clarke didn't fit the bill. She wondered if that is what caused a rift in her and her mother.

" Lexa, are you hoping to make a repeat performance against Arkadia?"

" Yes ma'am." Lexa nodded back to Abby.

" It'll be 100% less painful. Now that I'm on the same team." Octavia laughed.

Abby maintained her stiff smile. "It'll surely be the first time I've ever cheered against my alma mater."

"That reminds me, I figured you'd be short handed on the Polis band wagon. Excuse me for a moment." Lexa spoke standing and leaving the room of confused faces. She returned from the coatroom in a moment with a rolled black shirt with a red and black bowtie. Clarke didn't recall seeing the item; Lexa must've snuck it past her. "I was going to give it to you before the game tomorrow, but you had us over for dinner so now you can come to the game prepared." She handed it to a curious Abby.

Abby smiled politely and undid the bow; the T-shirt unraveled itself revealing the Polis crest and the words "POLIS BASKETBALL" with the athletic logo. Abby throw her head back and laughed, a warm genuine laugh Clarke hadn't heard in awhile. She stood and hugged Lexa which surprised the room, most of all, Lexa.

Clarke watched with admiration and shock. Lexa planning this was incredible; especially since she knew Clarke didn't have the warmest of relationships with Abby. Needless to say, the blonde swooned.

"Now you're making Clarke look bad" Raven joked.

Lexa smiled and returned to her seat. "That is not possible" she smiled.


	18. Chapter 18:Blood Must Have Blood, Ark p2

**A/N:: Hey Guys! Sorry this is a long damn chapter. My bad.**

 **Anyways, I have a side project and its called "Homo Poet" on Tumblr. If you write poetry, do any art or enjoy either of those/ just want to follow... then please check us out. You'll get a follow back.**

* * *

Clarke got cold shivers walking into the Arkadia stadium. A flash of memories rushed through her, both good and bad. She did not realize how familiar this court would feel after only being there one year. She looked forward as the Arkadian team stopped shooting and turned to stare at her and Octavia as they walked to their bench. Clarke could not look back at them, but Octavia did and cocked questioning brow their way, showing her confidence.

* * *

Lexa got into her own head, pumping herself up as Clarke's name was called and she ran out into the tunnel and stood with the rest of the starters. Lexa saw Abby in the stands wearing her black Polis shirt amongst a sea of Arkadians, clapping. Lexa cracked her neck as the prepared for tipoff: game time.

* * *

The first half was immediately handsy and slow, with many of fouls and growing tension as Polis dominated. Clarke however, subbed out early as she was unable to focus through her nerves. Despite nerves and the raging crowd, Lexa and Octavia held down the tempo, pushing into a 8 point lead. Lexa knew with Octavia's focus, that she could keep feeding her the ball and let her dominate the Arkadian post; her former mentor. With each passing minute Arkadia grew more and more irritated.

The second half begun and Clarke got another chance on the court as Lexa took her first break. She watched as Clarke refocused, determined to make a statement. She could tell this game was more than a score for her; it was about Clarke standing up for herself. Within minutes, the blonde did just that, scoring her first points and picking up 3 blocks. Clarke's actions resulted in two steals for Anya to make a fast break and leak out, notching up more points. Half time rolled in with Polis ahead by 15 points. The change room was filled with smiles.

"Great job ladies! This is the tempo we need. Clarke, Octavia great job in the post, you two just need to stay focused on our goal and wrap this game up. They're definitely feeling your loss this year. Lexa, your versatility is putting them on their heels! they're expecting you to shoot everything and you're taking advantage of that. Now lets go out there and blow this game open" Indra commented, the excitement clear in her voice.

The third quarter saw Polis take off. Their stress on cardio and conditioning paying off as the Arkadia team grew tired, picking up lazy fouls from reaching. The Arkadian guards backed off Lexa, adjusting to her lack of shooting, so in retaliation Lexa threw in her jab step and begun sharp shooting from the three.

Moving into the fourth quarter, Harper's quick hands on defense resulted in 4 stops converting into points. The buzzer went as the third closed, Clarke jogged over to the bench as Diana, her former captain from Arkadia, jogged along side her.

" Just because you ran to a better team doesn't make you any better than us. And sleeping with the captain doesn't make you better either." Clarke ignored the comment and returned to her bench.

* * *

The fourth started and Clarke, backed by a large 20 point lead, took the opportunity to become more versatile, shooting from the high post, driving and even exchanging through post to post screen and posting up down low for a few drop steps. She was on fire and the Polis bench exploded with cheers with every point.

Clarke came off Octavia's screen as Emori swung the ball around the three-point line, Clarke reverse sealed and the ball was lobbed over her defenders head. Clarke felt her defender, Diana, release from the seal and as Clarke went for the ball, two hands shoved her forward sending her flying into the hardwood with a hard crash. The stadium went quiet and Clarke heard the whistle blow as her former captain stood over her and stared her down, Clarke looked up in surprise from the flat of her back. In an instant the Arkadian captain went flying to her side as Lexa tackled her away. A brawl broke out onto the court, and Clarke scrambled to feet and rushed to pull Lexa away as Indra took to the court and yelled, instantly making all Polis players obey. Clarke kept her arms around a furious Lexa seething, and pulling her backwards towards the Polis bench.

Lexa snapped out of her anger and her snarl lowered as she was forced to refocus on Clarke.

"What the hell, Lexa?" Clarke said, surprised at the brunettes rabid anger.

Lexa quickly defended her actions. "She pushed you! Blood must have blood, Clarke."

"Dude, sometimes you get really fucking dark…." Clarke ended with a chuckle at how quickly everything erupted.

Indra yelled on the bench as the Referees approached to speak to Titus. When their ears were occupied she dropped the act. "We cannot come off aggressive. However, we protect our own. Now keep moving and lets finish this game." Indra ended with a wink to Lexa and Clarke who stifled smiles.

The Arkadian captain and Lexa were both removed form the game, however that only served to weaken Arkadia even more. Polis finished the game without a smirking Lexa, with a 22 point win over the Ark. The teams were instructed due to tensions to return to their change rooms without shaking hands, so Polis congratulated themselves.

* * *

"Ladies, that show of anger is not what we need, but we got the win. Most importantly you did it as a team. Everyone on the roster scored, we had 5 players in double digits and only turned the ball over 4 times. That was a team win, and honestly, our best win yet. Go watch the guys game, or see your families if they're here, but stay away for the Ark girls please, we don't need another brawl." Coach Titus instructed and left with Indra in tow.

Before the door shut the girls jumped to their feet and cheered together. "Guys, did anyone else see me have to pull Raven back? She was crutching to the brawl" Harper cackled.

"Hey, you guys fight, I'm there too. I can't believe that bitch shoved you like that." Raven said, directing her attention to Clarke.

"But did y'all see Lexa's football tackle? 10/10 would draft to the NFL" Anya laughed hard, pulling Lexa into a sweaty, playful headlock.

"I think, they learned not to mess with you guys. "Niylah said to Clarke, throwing her arm over the smaller blondes shoulders.

"In celebration, I am hosting a tequila night at our dorm tomorrow night, so… it's mandatory attendance!" Raven proclaimed, receiving excited chatter form the group.

* * *

Clarke showered quickly and walked to find her mom who was waiting tight-lipped and arms crossed in the lobby. Clarke knew what the conversation would consist of and she just allowed her mom to rant about how awful it was to show such anger on the court, and as Griffin's they are to uphold a specific image. Clarke considered interrupting and reminding her that she was the one violently shoved into the hardwood and did nothing to instigate the brawl, but she thought better of it.

"The entire situation could have been avoided, but Lexa, my god why would she escalate that to such a degree?" Abby said more to herself than to Clarke. Clarke chose this time to speak up

"She was standing up for me mom, remember it was my face that was crushed into the court. But thanks for the concern."

Abby rolled her eyes and softened "Clarke I know you're alright, I don't need to baby you. Anyways, I've got to get back to the hospital, please tell your friends I said congratulations and I hope to see and hear from them soon, and make sure Raven is going to physiotherapy" Abby rushed, looking at her watch, she placed a kiss on Clarkes forehead and took off. Clarke knew better than to expect much more, or a "good job" in general. She turned as Abby left the varsity centre, and saw Lexa holding both of their gym bags over her shoulder looking on from a distance. She gave the blonde a sympathetic smile, already noticing Clarkes disappointed demeanor.

Clarke smiled back and walked to Lexa, without thinking and simply seeking comfort, Clarke enveloped Lexa with her own frame. She wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist and buried her face in her neck. She was warm and freshly showered, Clarke inhaled deeply and the smell of Lexa's body wash made her stomach swirl with nerves.

" You alright bud?" Lexa asked, pulling away only enough to see Clarkes face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. …Want to head in and watch the guys' game? Or do you want to eat?" Clarke asked, but Lexa's attention was split, as the Arkadia team members cut through the lobby, gawking at Clarke and Lexa's closeness.

"So you leave Arkadia because you couldn't sleep your way to a starting line up? Well, all the better for us, we can actually change without you staring." Gina, a 3rd year guard called to Clarke as the rest of the girls snickered.

Lexa made a lunge towards them and Clarke held onto her, feeling all her muscles tense in anger.

"You can see more of us if staring isn't enough. Tune into the Championships, we'll be there and you can watch from home." Clarke smirked and Gina rolled her eyes, leading the group out of the varsity centre.

Lexa did not relax as they left, her jawline taught with anger. "I can't believe people are still like that. Who ever said this generation was accepting is a liar."

Clarke brushed them off. It was easier to do with having Lexa there for pseudo strength. "These days I only care about what you think about me, Lex."

Lexa looked into Clarke's eyes and softened. "you're right. You're my focus."

* * *

Octavia stood and threw her arms over her head in a loud cheer as Lincoln slammed a dunk over the Arkadia men's post. Polis men were trailing at half but came back out with more energy than before and Bellamy and Murphy's shots finally started dropping. Clarke watched, but only through the reactions of her teammates. She watched as Lexa muttered to herself as if Lincoln and Miller could actually hear her. She praised and cussed and never broke her focus from the court. Anya and Niylah sat with Octavia loudly and obnoxiously cheering at every crossover and shot. Raven couldn't be bothered; instead she sat to Clarke's left with her phone pressed to one ear and finger plugging the other over the crowds cheers.

"Wick, I'm serious 1 keg is not going to be enough" she argued.

"I get that its tequila night but what else are people going to chase with?" she responded seriously appalled at Wick.

Clarke snorted, of course Raven chases booze with more alcohol. This was going to be interesting.

" Also, invite everyone you see. Everyone on campus is invited, the guys are winning so it'll be a victory party."

* * *

The first dreadful hour of the party dragged through as guests slowly filed into the almost too small dorm suite. Raven and Octavia had big plans for their pre-drinking party that fell incredibly flat. Instead of playing low-key drinking games and eating pizza, Lincoln, Anya, and Wick learned the science of fixing two damaged kegs so they'd tap. Raven was not much help, however, insisted on moving about; soon putting too much pressure on her leg still in the brace and was sent on timeout with Lexa to guard.

Raven watched Lexa intently. The brunette captain sat with her eyebrows furrowed and a hand resting over her mouth as she stared at the laptop.

"Whatcha doing" Raven asked.

"Getting the music ready?" Lexa deadpanned.

"I thought we'd just plug in a 'Get Turnt' playlist on spotify"

Lexa reacted as if Raven divulged a plot to murder her. "Excuse me? What kind of lazy shit is that? Jesus Raven if you insist on having a party as least take the time to curate the perfect playlist. For suck sakes."

Raven lifted her hands in surrender. "Alright Commander, calm down. So how are you picking the music?"

Lexa sighed and thought it would be better to teach her now than her stay ignorant to proper party hosting. "Look, this is my music library here, and I sync it with my DJing table and program here. It analyzes it for me and shows me which key its in and the BMP. You want to pay attention to the Beats Per Minute. So I organize them in accordance with the BPM, so it's never a jarring change of pace. When I have two songs I already really like together, I can pre-fade one into the other so when its playing for hours tonight, I wont have to stand over it."

Raven looked at Lexa, impressed. "Well Cap't. You're a regularly Steve Aioki. Where'd you learn this"

"I took a lot of music in high-school and all my electives are music now. And why are people calling me Commander?"

"It's your angry alter-ego" Raven said with a shrug.

* * *

The party picked up in time for Lexa to place her laptop down connected to the external speaker system. Build up songs rang through, getting people pumped slowly before she hit them with the blockbusters and everyone danced. Lexa at all times as the dorm suite filled, kept her eye on the sound system paying extra attention to her laptop, which was covered in stickers that said "NASTY WOMAN" and "Stay Woke" displaying her political and social affirmations for everyone to see.

Clarke and Lexa made a conscious decision not to hang over each other all night, splitting up would allow for them to keep an eye on all their belongings and ensure no one was trashing the house, however that did not stop them from stealing sly, cheeky glances at each other mid-conversation with others. Lexa was sipping her beer and stealing a glance at Clarke laughing with Murphy and Miller, setting up for beer pong. Lexa smiled to herself, loving the way Clarke could have a good time and be social with anyone if she wanted. Suddenly another blonde interrupted her view.

"Costia, hi" Lexa smiled, but the enthusiasm did not make it to her eyes or voice. The attractive blonde put a lot into her physical appearance for tonight and it was evident, she looked good and Lexa was happy for her, however she was not the blonde she wanted to be chatting with.

"Hello, Lexa. Fancy seeing you here."

"At my teammates party? Hardly." Lexa tried a playful smile but it failed.

"Alright I'm caught, I figured you'd be here. It's unfortunate I never get to see you around campus. I really hoped that would happen more." Costia smiled brightly. For a moment Lexa felt bad, knowing she may have sent the wrong signals to lead her on previously.

"I mean, I keep to myself outside of basketball and school." Lexa explained.

"Well Lexa, if you ever don't want to keep to yourself, we should hang out. I have a feeling there's a lot that you can show me….. Around town." Costia smirked suggestively and took another long drink of her dark coloured alcohol.

"I keep pretty busy, sorry. I have to ugh, check on my laptop, I think someone's about to touch it, excuse me " Lexa said and slithered herself away. She sighed in relief that Costia did not pester her further. In stead Lexa was happy to see Lincoln standing by the speakers with Bellamy. She walked over and groaned to Lincoln.

"Too many blondes to handle little Commander?" Lincoln smiled, using her irritating nickname. Lexa playfully pushed her forehead into his muscular shoulder, feigning exhaustion.

"I swear no one talks to me for like two years and now all of a sudden girls are interested?" She groaned.

"Well I mean, I think they were scared of you, and now you've gone soft." Bellamy laughed. "For the record that transfer, Costia? She's hot and all but she's no Clarke."

Lexa nodded. "That , I know. Clarke is Clarke, there's no beating that. I just feel weird having to dodge Costia."

"She's into you but I'm not sure if she'd still go after her if she knew you were sort of taken, tell her you're dating Clarke." Lincoln reasoned over the music,

"But I'm technically not with Clarke, yet." Lexa said, taking a drink.

" You can lie." Lincoln laughed.

"or you can make things official with Clarke." Bellamy said, with a sad smile

* * *

Clarke lined up her last trick shot of the game. As per Raven's request, they had practiced this many times over the school year. Clarke waved people away from the wall of the kitchen and threw it hard against the side of the wall, the pong ball quickly bounced off and redirected back to the table, sinking into the last cup amidst loud crowd cheers. Clarke raised her fists in celebration as Raven immediately began talking shit to Monty and Harper whom were forced to chug their drinks.

Clarke felt a tap on her shoulder and turned away from the group re-wracking for a new game. She came face to face with Costia.

"Hey can we have a chat?" she asked, Clarke could tell by the slurred words and eyes drooped she was rather intoxicated, Clarke scanned around the room to see if Lexa was near by, but could not find her.

"Sure, everything okay?" Clarke spoke reluctantly. Raven called back to Clarke to start the new game, but she waved her off, and Wick joined the game. Clarke took a few steps away from the kitchen for a little more privacy.

"I just wanted to ask you about Lexa." Costia grinned wide, almost manically.

Clarke cringed inwardly. " Um, okay?"

"Are you guys like together, I've heard rumors and I don't want to tread on someone else's… property you know. She's just so… I'd just love a shot at that." Costia almost whispered as if her and Clarke were bestfriends gossiping at the sleepover.

Clarke recoiled putting a physical distance between the two of them. "Ugh… We… You know what, even if we were dating, Lexa is no ones property, and I don't appreciate anyone speaking about her as such."

Costia's eyebrows shot up and she rolled her eyes and muttered "alrighty then" and walked off, taking another long drink from her cup.

* * *

The living room soon turned into a dance floor thanks to Lexa's carefully curated playlist. Clarke heard Lexa's guilty pleasure song ringing through the speakers and laughed, knowing if she asked Lexa would say she only included "Despacito ft Justin Bieber" because it was a crowd hit, but she knew Lexa loved it. Clarke walked into her small living room and soon found Lexa in the middle of the dance floor with Niylah and Emori with huge smiles dancing together. Clarke leaned against the doorframe and sipped her beer. Lexa mouthed all the words and moved perfectly in time with the music; the conflicting feelings in Clarke grew. The goofy grin on Lexa's face made her laugh and think the brunette was adorable, but the way she moved her hips and her shirt revealed a small bit of her midriff made Clarke's heart thump and mouth go dry.

The song slowly faded out as another familiar one was slowly introduced. The people on the dance floor cheered and in unison all began singing the words to "Controlla" by Drake. The pace was slower, heaver base and everyone instinctively paired off. Clarke watched as Lexa stopped and looked around the room, she smiled bright when her eyes fell on Clarke. Lexa sauntered over and wordlessly pulled Clarke towards the floor. Clarke tried to hesitate but realized it was useless. She set her beer on top of the TV as they passed.

Clarke had to slow her nerves and focus on the beat, embarrassed that she was not as great of a dancer and Lexa, but once again, Lexa took the lead. The brunette slowly moved in time with the beat and directed Clarke to turn around and Lexa immediately closed the distance between their bodies. Lexa shivered as Clarke's body crashed flush against hers and the smell of her shampoo flooded her nose. Lexa moved her hands to the blonde's hips and Clarke slowly grinded against her and with every passing moment she could feel the blonde relax into her as they moved in unison. Lexa moved her hips with more force and put pressure on Clarkes hips, directing her to lean side to side and once Clarke got the movement, Lexa moved her hands starting at Clarke's shoulders and moved down to her hands, Lexa laced their fingers together. Clarke pushed into Lexa further, confident within Lexa's steady rhymed hold.

Clarke wanted more and closer, so she spun around and faced Lexa abruptly, Clarke noticed how close they were to the wall of the living room, and slowly shoved Lexa's shoulders backwards. The brunette connected with the wall with a small thud, but was unaffected, instead her eyes sparkled and mouth turned up into a suggestive half smirk. She raised her eyebrow anticipating Clarke's movements. Clarke moved to corner Lexa against the wall as the song changed to another of a similar pace, a remix of an old RnB song. Clarke moved her body in time with the music but never broke eye contact with Lexa, she moved close enough for them to brush noses and Lexa shivered again, she raised her chin anticipating a kiss, but Clarke smirked and turned around and used her ass to grind into Lexa's front. Lexa groaned at the contact and pulled at Clarke's hips, bringing her as close as possible.

Over the music the two heard loud crash, and glass breaking. Both girls responded to the sound reluctantly, Lexa spoke into Clarke's ear that she would go check it out, and Clarke groaned. _Terrible timing._

* * *

Clarke was almost too afraid to see what damage was done to her dorm, but silently accepted they had lost their damage deposit. She bitterly sipped her now warming beer and looked around the room at all the people having a great time, through the dance floor she could see Costia passed out on the couch, slumped onto someone's shoulder. Clarke moved to get a better look, and noted the guy she was passing out on was a lacrosse player. Clarke looked away for a moment, glad Costia seemed to have had a good time and moved on from Lexa, at least for the time being. Harper walked over to Clarke and picked up conversation.

Harper enthusiastically informed Clarke about how she had just made out with Monty and was not sure what that meant for them or if it was a simple hook up. Clarke listened halfheartedly, as the pang in her stomach remained, she could no longer ignore the feeling in her gut that something was off. She turned back to the couch and Costia was a little more awake, but like an infant was clearly incapable of holding her head up. Despite this, the guy had one hand on her inner thigh, rubbing slowly and the other, helping support her head. He placed a hesitant kiss on the corner of her mouth and continued to try and speak to her. Clarke's feet immediately carried her to them.

The boy looked up at Clarke and immediately removed his hand from Costia's thigh. Clarke felt ill with discomfort "hey Costia, come on, we're going home."

Costia did not reply, her head swirled from side to side, eyes unopened.

"Shes alright." The boy spoke, hoping his tone was convincing.

Clarke immediately amped up her offense "no she's not, I'm taking her home."

The boy brushed Clarke and Harper off casually, "oh no , it's good I'm taking her, we talked about it. She's fine with me."

"Yeah you can text her tomorrow, but tonight she's coming with us." Harper flanked Clarke and stared him down. Clarke took his silence and ducked her head under Costia's armpit and the girl murmured, incoherent. Clarke and Harper readjusted, bore her weight and shuffled her towards Clarke's bedroom.

"Harper do you know where she lives?"

"I don't even know if she lives on campus." Harper answered.

Clarke growled, they slumped her on the bed and Clarke thanked Harper. Costia moaned and Clarke grabbed a bag and her trash bin, prepping for Costia to be sick but the girl passed out. Clarke rolled her over onto her side and tucked her under her covers. Harper helped Clarke build up the pillows behind Costia to discourage her from accidentally rolling onto her back. Clarke filled a glass of water and returned to her room leaving it for Costia.

Clarke instructed Harper and the rookies of her team to inquire whom Costia had come with, and Clarke sat with her back against the hallway wall, guarding the door. Clarke thought better of locking the door incase something happened and they needed to help her quickly, Clarke had learned too often in her classes how people can choke of their own vomit while heavily intoxicated. Instead she left the door open ajar and guarded it. At no point did it occur to her that she wasn't a fan of Costia, she was just someone who needed a hand.

* * *

Lexa came around the corner and smiled at Clarke, clearly questioning what was happening.

"Harper said something happened with Costia… and James?" Lexa inquired sitting next to Clarke

"Is that his name? Well yeah. She's in there now sleeping it off."

Lexa sighed. "Well we kicked him out, and I texted the other soccer girls to find out where she lives. But they all left, drunk about an hour ago."

"Nice of them to leave a teammate behind." Clarke sneered. "Maybe that's why they lose all the time"

Lexa laughed. "or maybe because they've scored on their own net."

"that too" Clarke smiled, tired.

After moment of silence Lexa spoke "its great of you to intervene. Not many would have."

"Those, are not good people." Clarke changed the subject. "She asked me about you…. And me."

Lexa raised her eyebrow telling her to go on. "yeah? "

"mhm…. Asked if we were dating."

Lexa hid a smile "oh…. What did you say?"

"Well she also made a weird comment about not wanting to tread on someone else's property so I informed her you weren't property" Clarke shrugged.

Lexa chuckled. "That's all you said?"

"Are you asking if I said anything about what we are?"

Lexa nodded.

Clarke smiled. "What would you of liked me to say?"

"I don't know, I wouldn't mind getting a hint of… if that would be something you'd want. " Lexa stumbled, speaking more as if it was a question.

Clarke tried to stifle a wild smile. "Well. Lexa, you really put me through the paces when all this started… so I think you'll have to ask. Formally."

Lexa smiled and feigned a groan. "I'm an old soul, Clarke but it's still the 21st century. Do I really have to get down on one knee and swear fealty to you?"

"I mean, I'd prefer it, yeah." Clarke laughed loud, causing a similar one from Lexa. Lexa picked up Clarke's hand and held it. Clarke leaned her head on Lexa's shoulder and they sat in silence for a while before Clarke spoke again.

"How do you know Spanish?"

"what?" Lexa questioned

"You were singing every word of Despacito."

" Um… no I wasn't. " Lexa lied with a chuckle.

* * *

A/N::: Annoying reminder if you're interested: . **"HomoPoet" on Tumblr**


	19. Chapter 19: Climax and Froyo

Clarke's eyes fluttered open as her shoulder was jostled and it took her a second to get her bearings. The ache in her lower back was indicative of the fact she had slept on the shitty residence couch in her living room. She looked around, Lexa was sleeping opposite of her, her full weight now crushing Clarke's legs on their shared couch. Costia stood timidly over her appearing pale, confused and embarrassed.

Clarke quickly straightened up in her seat, the movement jostling Lexa awake as well. "Costa, are you okay? How are you feeling?"

Costia slumped down to sit on the wooden coffee table facing both Clarke and Lexa. She drew a long breath. "I feel like shit, I'm really embarrassed…. I don't remember everything."

Lexa nodded slowly, sympathetic. "Yeah you drank a lot. Clarke and Harper found you with James…. You were… mostly passed out but he was insistent. Clarke and Harper got you out of there, and you slept it off."

Costia cringed, "… I do remember that a little. Clarke, thank you so much. I don't think he's that kind of guy normally, he also drank a lot. But, I really appreciate you taking care of me, especially when you don't have any reason to." Her eyes downcast, before flickering up quickly to Lexa,

"Don't worry about it at all. You needed some help, and that's it. It doesn't have to be any more than that… James was being a creep. Alcohol is neither an excuse for behaviors nor is it a statement of invite. If you want to talk to someone or have a further conversation about it, I'm sure Lexa and I can give you a hand in some way." Clarke spoke confidently and seriously. She remembered much of that being said in her counseling course she took as an elective.

Lexa smiled and nodded.

"I think I'm okay, but I will definitely keep it in mind. I also wanted to apologize for the things I said, because you're right, alcohol isn't an excuse."

Lexa chuckled it off, and nonchalantly grabbed Clarke's hand, to further the unspoken message. "Don't worry about, just go home and tend to that hangover."

Clarke tried to not blush as Lexa's contact. "And thanks for not puking in my bed. I don't know how you kept it in."

" Well I'm probably going to go dry heave in front of a church on my way home."

The three laughed, and Costia collected her things and left. Clarke sighed deeply, still exhausted. Last night, her and Lexa sat on the floor until the party dissipated and Costia could be left alone. They considered going back to Lexa's but decided against it, instead curling up on the couch for 3 hours.

* * *

Lexa groaned and held her back, standing

"Hey where are you going?" Clarke complained and grabbed at Lexa's hand.

"I have to work, so I have to go shower."

"Shower here… with me" Clarke smiled, feigning innocence.

Lexa laughed, exhaustion evident in her voice. "Then, I'll never get to work. Why don't you go back to bed, stay in bed and rest and have a 'you' day."

"Why don't you come back over after your shift… and bring me a coffee?" Clarke all but begged.

Lexa placed both hands on either side of Clarke's head on the couch and leaned over her. "And how will you sweeten the deal, princess?"

Clarke fell into the playful banter, smirking and relishing Lexa's attention. "Princess? Huh, well maybe ill provide dinner."

Lexa very slightly turned up one corner of her mouth, smirking. Her eyes trailed slowly over Clarke's body without thinking.

"Lexa!" Clarke scoffed and fought a wide smile.

"Sorry. Um… dinner sounds great… But I need to get going." Lexa bent down the rest of the way and kissed Clarke's forehead. The action was instinctive and quick. Lexa left thinking about the small, casual action her entire way to work.

* * *

Clarke climbed into her own bed after inspecting it for vomit. She pulled out her laptop and threw on Netflix, only to pay no mind to the show playing. Instead she thought about Lexa. She thought of their closeness, physically and emotionally and reveled in how quickly things had changed for them. Lexa kissing her on her forehead sent more flutters into her stomach than any rollercoaster ever had. Their banter left a bigger smile on her face than any Christmas morning; and the duration of Lexa's absence felt longer than any boring desk 9-5 desk job Clarke held in the summer months. _I've got it bad. Shit._

* * *

"Lexa, can I talk to you for a minute?" Her manager spoke from the backroom as she tied the green apron around her back. Lexa rolled her eyes and walked further into the back. There wasn't any way she was in trouble, but she knew she'd be ask to pick up shifts for someone with in impending winter break.

"Will you be staying in town for the holidays again?" her manager spoke. Bingo.

"It seems likely" Lexa didn't bother going anywhere. Going home with Titus or Anya felt like a weird charity event and the whole excursion made her uncomfortable.

"Alright, I just need to know for scheduling, thanks."

* * *

Lexa's shift dragged on. Latte, latte, frappuchinos, thanksgiving blend everything. It was repetitive, no one was ever grateful or said thank you but it was customer service. Being treated like shit was apart of the job.

As the main rush came to a close, Lexa picked up her Clean, Safe and Ready duty, cleaning out the espresso hopper. Roan grabbed the vacuum and offered a hand while the café was quiet.

"Hey how is your season going?" he asked

" it's good, we're winning, Same old" Lexa chuckled.

" and how's the cute blonde"

" Clarke? She's, she's really good." Lexa nodded.

Roan raised an eyebrow. Lexa was always the one to ask questions, never answer. Nevertheless, he persisted. "Are you guys going to date?"

Lexa smiled deciding how much of her personal life to divulge. She never spoke of overtly personal things while on the floor at work. But talking about Clarke was word vomit, she couldn't help herself "not yet. But I have plans"

Roan almost dropped the vacuum in excitement. " Oh yeah? Putting on all that romance?"

Lexa laughed hard and shook her head." You don't even know"

They finished with the espresso hooper and Roan put down the vacuum. Is wiggled eye brows at Lexa and lowered his voice to a slowly, dreamy and sultry tone. "let me guess, rose peddles leading from the doorway to the bedroom, a bottle of chilled Shiraz.. some soft cheese's, lacy black-"

"Alright there Romeo. Chill. I'm not that cheesy, Jesus Christ"

"So what's your plan"

" I'm going to do it in a way that is exactly… Clarke."

Roan raised his eyebrows, questioning.

* * *

Lexa held the tray of coffees in one hand, and a case of beer in the other hand. She stood in front of the girls dorm and stared. She resolved to lightly head but the door to knock, knowing Octavia was home, and Clarke, unresponsive to her messages was likely asleep. Perfect.

Octavia swung open the door and quickly grabbed the beer from Lexa's hand, freeing her up. " You ready for this?"

" I think so, here's your coffee, I got one for Lincoln because I know he's coming over. And that is your beer I owe you from the flip cup bet. Told you I make good on my promises. " Octavia quietly cheered, and thanked Lexa.

Lexa shuffled into the shared bathroom and cleaned herself up, pulling down her hair, tousling it, washing her hands a million times and groaning, knowing she still smelt like old coffee despite changing her clothes. Lexa looked at herself long in the mirror, dissatisfied. She never cared much for her physical appearance and never put too much thought into it until she became interested in Clarke. Being around someone who was constantly awe-inspiring was difficult to live up to. _This is as good as it's going to get_. _Go get 'er Lexa. Don't mess this up._

* * *

Clarke groaned and opened her eyes and the side of the bed sunk in and woke her from her nap. She had fallen asleep watching Wynonna Earp and had the most blissful sleep after a rough night on the couch. She grinned when her eyes focused on Lexa and the smell of coffee filled her nose. She wasn't sure if it was Lexa that was causing the scent after her shift or if she had brought Clarke a hot beverage.

"Hey, Lazy" Lexa smiled and smoothed Clarkes messy blonde hair.

"I'm tired not lazy, don't insult me just come here" Clarke patted beside her, wanting nothing more than to cuddle into Lexa's coffee scented warmth.

Lexa gulped, and raised her arm, bringing Clarke's coffee into view. "I brought you this"

"Oh my god. You're the best"

"and while you sip, I want to say… or ask something" Clarke rarely every saw Lexa nervous. Her tone of voice worried Clarke as she took the drink from Lexa's shaking hand.

Lexa cleared her voice and spoke even, calm and despite rehearsing her words in the car, she stumbled over her unease. "Clarke, I'm not a great person. I know this, I'm brash and generally unpleasant to be around most times as people have told me. I'm usually okay with that; it allows me to get what I need to done without distractions. Until…. you came to Polis I never saw a problem with that. Until you came to Polis I didn't really care to connect with anyone; but you showed up and so effortlessly made me question everything. I may be those things still, but I also want to be someone you can depend on, someone that makes you smile and laugh, and the first person you call when you want lay on the couch and binge watch shitty reality TV shows." Lexa drew a slow shaking breath taking a moment to try and judge Clarke's reaction.

Lexa continued, "If you'll agree, I would love to show you that I can be a great girlfriend. And I will never stop trying, everyday. So I'm doing this now. Because I know a lot about what makes you happy. You're happiest after you nap, you're happiness with coffee in hand, and I want the chance to show you can you can be happiest with me." Lexa finished with a scared smile, pleased with getting it out, but terrified as her insecurities, feelings and questions hung in the air between her and Clarke. She couldn't read Clarke's expression, but Clarke was breathing heavy and she scrambled to focus her words into a coherent sentence.

Finally, Clarke's eyes glimmered and a wide smile broke out onto her face. "First, you are not Machiavelli, so chill out. Second, nothing I did to gain your attention was effortless, trust me. And last, I would consider myself incredibly lucky to be able to call you my girlfriend." Clarke ended by pulling Lexa in by the neck of her black t-shirt for a kiss. Clarke transferred every feeling in her body into the connection of their lips; the kiss broke as both girls smiled against each other.

"So … that's a yes right? For clarity purposes. Can I get you to sign like a waver?" Lexa joked.

"Shut up, of course it's a yes."

Lexa excitedly slid into bed next to Clarke and the blonde easily slid into Lexa's frame enveloping herself in Lexa's warmth. "Hey Lex, you smell like coffee, and I couldn't be more turned on by it."

"Well I'm very glad you think its attractive because it smells terrible to me"

They both laughed together.

* * *

The new couple stayed tangled in each other as they watched Lexa's pick for a movie; another true crime documentary.

Clarke's head rested on Lexa's chest, comfortable warm and safe. Finally having Lexa, made her only want the brunette more. Regardless of how close they were sitting, Clarke wanted more, she wanted closer. She was hungry for as much of Lexa as she could get. Clarke sprawled her fingers wide against Lexa's chest, above her boobs, feeling the warmth beneath her hand and the reverberation of Lexa's steady, strong heartbeat. Clarke curled her fingers slowly taking with them, Lexa's shirt bunching the neckline into her grasp, the movement capturing Lexa's attention away from the screen as she looked down to her blonde. Simultaneously, Clarke pulled down on the neckline, and stretched her face up, meeting Lexa's eyes for a brief second before settling her gaze onto the brunette's lips and capturing them in her own.

Any amount of surprise Lexa had dissipated in moments, falling entirely into the kiss. It was slow and passionate but quickly evolved. Clarke kept her grip on her neckline, which hinted at a playful and hot aggression Lexa hadn't thought Clarke could muster. As if using Lexa's shirt to steady herself, Clarke deepened the kiss, opening her mouth and massaging her tongue against Lexa's. Lexa struggled to focus on not melting into the mattress as Clarke smoothly maneuvered herself to straddle Lexa's lap. The blonde finally let go of Lexa's shirt in exchange for cupping her chin and the back of her neck, Lexa returned the gesture by sliding one hand onto Clarke's back and the other onto her hip. An accidental moan escaped Clarke's chest and the sound made Lexa's head spin more.

Clarke allowed her body to take over as she instinctively began to grind against Lexa, slowly mimicking Lexa's seductive hip motions whilst dancing. In return, she felt the brunette arch her own back into hers and pulled Clarke closer to her own body. Lexa groaned against Clarkes mouth, and broke the kiss for the first time, moving to kiss the blondes neck, lightly trailing her tongue and softly sucking on her pulse points, making Clarke buck her hips with more need against Lexa's leg. Lexa in a moment of painful clarity pulled away slightly, breathing heavy and looking into Clarke's blue eyes.

"Clarke, this is our 'Go, no go' point." Lexa's voice was husky and deep.

Clarke felt the heat and wetness from her center and the look in Lexa's now dark green eyes. "I want this, and I want you."

Lexa studied Clarke's face judging for herself.

"Lexa… please.. I'm an adult, and I'm wet and I want you. Do I need to say more?"

Both of Lexa's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I mean… you can continuing talking like that all you want" Lexa grinned and steadied her hand on Clarkes back, swiftly changing positions and Clarke squealed and ended up on her back with a seductive smile as Lexa took control.

* * *

A few feet away in the dorm living room, Octavia, Harper, Lincoln and Raven wordlessly watched a new B-list Horror movie on TV. Half way through the movie, the very audible sounds of moaning flowed from Clarke's room. The group slowly exchanged amused looks, but attempted to ignore it, focusing on the movie.

As the movie reached the climatic scenes, the noise from Clarke's room increased in volume finally erupting. " oh…..oh my god Lexa I'm gunna …. FUUCCCKKK"

The group all exchanged looks ranging from horror, to amusement and embarrassment. Raven was the first to speak, standing slowly and speaking quick " Anyone want Froyo? Lets go get Froyo….. Where are my crutches?"


End file.
